Former top 10 draft pick Callum Ah Chee tells Gold Coast he wants a trade
Another off-season another trade exodus at Gold Coast? Days after Jack Martin told the Suns he wanted a trade, former top-10 pick Callum Ah Chee says he also wants out.
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Gold Coast has been hit with its second trade demand in less than a week, with Callum Ah Chee wanting out.
Days after Jack Martin packed his bags for a move to a Melbourne-based club, Ah Chee told the Suns he also wanted out.
Ah Chee was the No. 8 pick in the 2015 national draft and when fit, was among the most talented players at Stuart Dew’s disposal.
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But the 22-year-old could manage only one game this year after a bad ankle sprain in June needed surgery.
It followed an injury-plagued 2018 in which he suffered a broken hand and a torn hamstring.
The West Australian has been linked to Brisbane, where Dom Ambrogio — the former Suns recruiter who drafted Ah Chee to the club — works as list manager.
Ah Chee’s pending departure marks the loss of another high draft pick for the Suns, who felt they invested a lot of time and energy into his development across four seasons.
“During our end of season exit interview with Callum Ah Chee, Callum indicated that he would like to explore the opportunity to continue his career elsewhere in 2020,” Suns footy manager Jon Haines said.
“Callum and his manager will work through his options, as will the club’s list management team, in a bid to get the best possible outcome.”
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The Suns were paying Martin around $600,000 a season, but with offers from rival clubs in excess of $700,000 the expansion club will ask for a late first-round pick in return.
The Western Bulldogs, Carlton and Essendon have all shown interest, with the Blues understood to be his destination of choice.
Gold Coast made their sales pitch to Martin during the mid-season bye, but didn’t offer him a contract given his uncertainty, adamant they would only negotiate with players who wanted to stay.
The Suns will not consider any trade overtures for Ben King and Jack Lukosius, who are unsigned past 2020 and are considered happy at the club despite not putting pen to paper.
Adelaide had threatened to drag back Lukosius even before he was drafted by the Suns, while St Kilda has extreme interest in King.
The Suns will hope to use a priority pick to draft Oakleigh Chargers midfielders Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson and thankfully have no free agents out of contract in 2020.
Originally published as Former top 10 draft pick Callum Ah Chee tells Gold Coast he wants a trade