ADELAIDE list manager Justin Reid believes negotiations to land Gold Coast forward Izak Rankine are "heading in the right direction", with pick five potentially going the other way.
Reid also expects out-of-favour midfielder Matt Crouch and defender Fischer McAsey to be at the club next season, despite the latter revealing on Friday that he's been in discussions with a Victorian club.
After four years at the Suns, Rankine requested a trade home to South Australia earlier this month, with the Crows being the preferred destination for the dynamic small forward.
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Gold Coast list manager Craig Cameron said on Thursday that he hoped the Suns' development of Rankine, the No.3 pick in the 2018 NAB AFL Draft, would be recognised with a "fair" return from the Crows.
On Friday, Reid indicated Adelaide's first-round selection - pick five - may be utilised in a trade.
"I think Craig went on the record yesterday - we've had a few discussions with Gold Coast and I think they're heading in the right direction," Reid told AFL.com.au's Cal Twomey and Riley Beveridge on Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio.
"I won't go into the detail, but obviously pick five is sitting there. We're just working through what that looks like. We'll catch up a bit more next week and work through that as we get closer to the deadline.
"Obviously Izak is a priority. We want to get him into the football club and we'll work through that with Gold Coast. I won't go into specifics, but certainly pick five is a very good pick and we'll work through that together."
Reid also shed some light on the future of Billy Frampton, confirming AFL.com.au's report this week that a future third-round pick is likely to see the Crows utility end up at Collingwood.
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"I've caught up with (Magpies Footy GM) Graham Wright on a couple of occasions and it's pretty clear I think a future three will get that done," Reid said. "So we'll just wait for Collingwood to come back and see what that looks like.
"They've got a bit on their plate as well, so I guess they'll work through a few things. But I think that should get it done."
Reid also said he expects Lachie Sholl and McAsey to remain at the club next year, despite the latter telling Nine News on Friday that he's been in discussions about a move to Victoria.
McAsey, who was taken at No.6 in the 2019 draft, hasn't featured at senior level since playing ten games in his debut year in 2020.
"We certainly expect those boys (McAsey and Sholl) to be at the football club next year," Reid said.
Crouch is also set to remain next year despite spending large parts of the season in the SANFL.
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The 2017 All-Australian was dropped multiple times throughout the year, playing only 11 games and only two after their mid-season bye.
"Matt's contracted for 2023," Reid said.
"I understand the interest, especially in South Australia, being a best-and-fairest winner, All-Australian, he's a quality individual and player for our football club and at times found himself out of the team this year so we understand the interest.
"Matt's a contracted player and we expect Matt to have a big off-season and we'll see him in the Crows colours most likely next year."
Small forward James Rowe, however, will have to wait until after the trade period to find out whether he will get a new deal.
Other than Rankine's impending arrival, Reid anticipates a quiet trade period for the Crows, who are "tight for list spots" and hoping to get more games into the number of high draft picks they've brought in over the last few seasons.
"We've gone to the draft over the last four years with a lot of picks and bringing in some high-end talent, so we need to give that time to settle," he said.
"We need to expose the list, get some games into the list as well. I think we'll be pretty quiet. We'll look at Izak and go to the draft most likely. We're pretty tight for list spots as well."
