Jake Stringer has spoken with Essendon coach John Worsfold and could meet with Collingwood

JAKE Stringer has spoken with Essendon coach John Worsfold about potentially joining the Bombers while Collingwood could enter the race in the coming days.

Jake Stringer is out of the Bulldogs. Picture: Michael Klein

JAKE Stringer has spoken with Essendon coach John Worsfold about potentially joining the Bombers as a raft of AFL clubs prepare to launch their bids for the out-of-favour Western Bulldogs forward.

It is understood the pair had a brief phone discussion in recent days, with Stringer’s former teammate Adam Cooney suggesting the Bombers appear a good fit not only for the 23-year-old’s future, but for also being able to meet the Bulldogs’ trade requirements.

Geelong remains another option for the 2015 All-Australian and 2016 premiership player, while he is also likely to chat with Collingwood’s new development coach Matthew Boyd about teeing up a meeting with senior coach Nathan Buckley.

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St Kilda has also expressed an interest in Stringer.

“I think ‘Woosha’ (Worsfold) has spoken to Jake throughout the week so I think it’d be a good fit if he got to Essendon,” Cooney said. “Obviously, it is probably one of the easier trades to do with Essendon. They have a mid first-round pick, and I think that could get it done.”

Jake Stringer is out of the Bulldogs. Picture: Getty Images

Cooney told AFL Nation radio Stringer had come to terms with the Bulldogs’ decision to trade him, saying a breakdown in his relationship with coach Luke Beveridge made the situation “untenable”.

“I spoke to Jake during the week and it certainly wasn’t his idea to be traded,” Cooney said.

“It was a conversation through the exit meeting and there was a lot made of the exit meaning about how he stormed out post that, but (he didn’t).

“The relationship between coach and player is almost untenable and not everyone at the Bulldogs wants to trade Jake Stringer, but the coach doesn’t like him.

“At the end of the day, if the coach is off you, you have to look elsewhere.”

Cooney admitted Stringer, who struggled with form and hamstring issues this season, needed to work harder on and off the field to ensure he got back to his 2015 form again. The club has been demanding Stringer lift his standards for some time, but he hadn’t followed through on it.

“His main problem ... is that his coach thought he was lazy, wasn’t working hard enough and you can see that on the field, he needs to work harder, and his approach to training is not professional enough,” Cooney said.

“At the end of the day ... this is not something that has happened over two or three weeks ... he has been told this for a long time.

“He’s accepted that he needs to move to another club.”

Jake Stringer celebrates the 2016 flag. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

But the 2008 Brownlow medallist said the Bulldogs may come to regret their decision to part with Stringer, who has played 89 games across five seasons since being drafted as pick 5 in the 2012 national draft.

“The decision could come back to haunt the Bulldogs because he is still so young, and he has got a lot of maturing to do,” he said. “He can be anything as a player, we have seen how good he can be.

“Eventually he will sort himself out — he will sort his life out, he will work hard, he will get his diet right, and he will become a super player in two or three years’ time. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, that could come back to bite them.”