Nick Blakey reportedly wants out of Sydney.
According to The Age’s Sam McClure, Blakey’s desire to leave the Swans follows “a deterioration in his relationship with the club”.
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The revelation comes after the exhilarating rebounder was one of five Sydney players suspended for the rest of the season after breaching club standards following Round 23.
And in a shock detail, Blakey also explored a move to Gold Coast at the end of last season.
That was reportedly due to his partner, Olympic runner Ella Connolly, planning a move to Queensland in preparation for the 2032 Olympics.
The report states sources claimed “Blakey and his club had become frustrated with each other” since the events at Pullman East Melbourne, with the star defender also said to be “angry about the club’s handling of the situation”.
The 26-year-old still has five years remaining on his current Sydney contract, which is thought to be worth more than $1 million per season.
In August, the Herald Sun’s Jay Clark reported on Fox Footy that Blakey was “certainly a player of very strong interest for Melbourne clubs”.
“I believe up to eight clubs will be chasing Nick Blakey, including St Kilda (who) want a half-back,” Clark said on Fox.
“North Melbourne, obviously, Melbourne have two first-round picks, (and) Collingwood and Carlton will do their due diligence, too.”
Blakey has ties to North Melbourne via his father, John, who played 359 games for Fitzroy and North Melbourne between 1985 and 2002.
The left-footer picked a path to the Swans over the Kangaroos — where he could have been a father-son pick — in 2018, with John an assistant coach at Sydney at the time.
The Roos and Saints could use more counterattacking class, while the Demons have a rich draft hand and have also reportedly targeted Hawthorn rebounder Bailey Macdonald this year.
The 173-gamer appeared 22 times this year for Dean Cox’s side, averaging 25.6 disposals as a counterattacking weapon.
