ESSENDON midfielder Jake Melksham has told the club he wants to be traded.
Melksham, a former top-10 draft selection, has played 114 games over six seasons at the Bombers but he declined to sign a new two-year deal offered by the club, as first revealed on AFL.com.au.
He played 18 games this season before joining teammate Jake Carlisle in seeking a trade out of Essendon.
Essendon list and recruiting manager Adrian Dodoro said the club would seek adequate compensation in any trade deal.
"Jake is a talented young midfielder with more than a hundred games experience and we’re extremely disappointed in his decision to seek a trade," Dodoro said.
Melbourne has been tipped as the most likely destination for the 24-year-old.
Melksham's decision to seek a trade is another blow for Essendon as the club continues to deal with the fallout from the disastrous supplements saga.
In March, the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal cleared 34 current and former Essendon players of taking the banned drug thymosin-beta 4, but the World Anti-Doping Authority has appealed that ruling in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The appeal hearing is set to begin in Sydney on November 16.
- with AAP
