WEST Coast is believed to be the preferred destination for 24-year-old Brisbane Lions midfielder Jack Redden after he told the club on Tuesday he wanted to seek a trade despite a year remaining on his contract.
The consistent midfielder has also attracted preliminary interest from several Victorian clubs, and Adelaide is understood to be also monitoring the South Australian.
Redden, in his seventh season at the Lions, is set to become a free agent at the end of 2016 and the Lions may decide to trade him, despite list manager Peter Schwab insisting on AFL.com.au's Road to the Draft on Tuesday that he was a required player.
"We'll try to talk to Jack and see if we can change his mind, but if we can't and that doesn't happen then that gets the ball rolling and we'll see what happens," Schwab said.
With vice-captain Scott Selwood still unsigned, the Eagles may consider Redden an automatic replacement if the restricted free agent decides he wants to join his brother Joel at Geelong.
Redden has played 129 games for the Lions and has twice been placed third in the club's best and fairest.
It has been an eventful fortnight for the Lions as it moved to dampen down reports that questioned captain Tom Rockliff's leadership style and tried to contain the fallout from their decision to not renew former skipper Jed Adcock's contract.
The club's first-round pick from the 2013 NAB AFL Draft, James Aish, is also expected to depart at year's end, while free agent Matthew Leuenberger has also attracted interest from several clubs, including the Sydney Swans, who are fighting to have their trading ban overturned.
There have also been departures from the football department including football manager Dean Warren, fitness coach Brett Burton and wellbeing manager Manny Lynch, as coach Justin Leppitsch moves to build an off-field team around him with the backing of board member and former coach Leigh Matthews and CEO Greg Swann.
Former skill development manager Matthew Francis has been appointed as football manager and there have been reports that Greater Western Sydney's player wellbeing manager Craig Lambert will rejoin his former club in the role in 2016.
There have also been positives, with the Lions announcing last week that they had re-signed promising tall Harris Andrews until the end of 2018 and defender Ryan Harwood until the end of 2017.
They also have promising Academy prospects Ben Keays and Eric Hipwood emerging and are likely to have the first selection in the 2015 NAB AFL Draft to be held in Adelaide in November.
