West Coast coach Andrew McQualter delivers mixed news on future of Oscar Allen and Harley Reid
Reid is contracted to West Coast until the end of 2026 but there is already a huge tug-of-war for the No.1 draft pick.
St Kilda are reportedly the latest club to throw their hat into the ring, with some suggesting the Saints are contemplating an offer in the vicinity of $25 million over 12 years.
The Eagles offer is rumoured to be about $24 million over 11 years — composing of an initial two-year deal with a trigger for the remaining nine.
Hawthorn, Essendon and Geelong are others to have shown interest in Reid, with Melbourne-based clubs hoping the pull-home factor will convince the Victorian to leave West Coast.
Reid's management say the 20-year-old is happy in Perth, and the Eagles are hopeful of being able to re-sign the midfield bull.
'I'm really confident Harley will be here,' McQualter said on Thursday.
'Every day Harley turns up to work, he's incredibly invested in this team, this club. So yeah, I'm really optimistic that Harley will be here.'
When asked to clarify whether his optimism around Reid was merely for next year or for the long term, McQualter replied: 'I'm talking for a long time.'
'The young man is really invested,' McQualter added.
'He's working hard to make us become better, to get himself better.
'He cares about the group, cares about the club. So there's signs that point to me that he's really invested.'
Questions have been raised about whether it's in the best interests of a club to commit more than $2 million a season on one player.
McQualter doesn't see any issues with it.
'Money's different to what it used to be,' the former Saints and Suns tagger said.
'When I played, I got paid $48,000. So if you're asking me would I have taken $2 million - the answer is yes, I would have.
'Was I worth it? No, I think that's pretty obvious.
'But I think that's just where the game's trending. It's going up. It'll happen eventually - someone will be that player.
'There was a time when no one was a million dollar player, and that broke a record. So that'll just be what happens, and it will keep moving like that in the future.'
McQualter was less bullish when it came to co-captain Oscar Allen, who as a restricted free agent is expected to sign with the Brisbane Lions.
'We're working with Oscar's management. We're still not clear where it'll be, but we're working really hard to try and make Oscar a player here for a long time,' McQualter said.
The Eagles showed enormous fight in last week's nine-point loss to Adelaide, and they'll face another big task on Sunday against a star-studded Western Bulldogs attack featuring Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton at Marvel Stadium.
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