Trade target Jaeger O’Meara has met with Essendon and Hawthorn

JAEGER O’Meara will spend the next fortnight overseas considering his future home after undergoing a series of medical examinations last week.

Jaeger O’Meara will think about his future over the next two weeks.

JAEGER O’Meara will spend the next fortnight overseas considering his future home after undergoing a series of medical examinations last week.

The Gold Coast midfielder has met Essendon and Hawthorn, with that pair the clear frontrunners for his services.

Clubs are understandably concerned about his durability, but it seems certain they will offer him long-term deals given his extraordinary potential.

St Kilda and North Melbourne are also keen to meet O’Meara, with one club prepared to offer a five-year deal worth as much as $4 million.

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But that seems well down the pecking order given Essendon has multiple options to get a deal done for O’Meara and Hawthorn remains the ultimate destination club.

Having passed up a monster two-year deal worth more than $800,000 a season at Gold Coast, he will choose the club with the best fit and best medical services.

Jaeger O'Meara has not played for the last two years. Picture: Adam Head

O’Meara will spend that time overseas pondering his future with a move to Victoria a certainty for a player with a Melbourne girlfriend and Armadale apartment.

Essendon and Hawthorn seem confident they are in an ideal position but with 41 days until the trade period closes there is plenty of time for unexpected developments.

On the open market without his patella tendon issues he would be worth in excess of $1 million a year and multiple top-10 picks in a trade.

But given he has not played senior football since the end of 2014 clubs will hedge their bets on what they are prepared to give up for him.

Hawthorn has consistently shown itself to be a risk-taker which recruits seemingly flawed players or drafts players with injury or character issues and tries to iron out their flaws.

But securing Richmond free agent Tyrone Vickery on more than $400,000 a year, Sydney’s Tom Mitchell on $500,000 a year and O’Meara would require the work of salary cap genius.

The Hawks will likely trade out Brad Hill to a West Australian-based club and have secured pay cuts from its four elder statesman but it would still need to find significant space.

Hawthorn is targetting Tyrone Vickery. Picture: Getty Images)

Former Hawthorn recruiter Gary Buckenara told Superfooty the Bombers and Suns should trade draft picks to secure a deal for O’Meara.

“If he picks Essendon a way they could do the deal is ask for the No.1 draft pick but give up one of their own first-round picks,’’ he said.

“They did a deal with Melbourne last year to get their first-round pick, currently No.8, while they’ve also got their own first pick, currently No.4.

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“So they could say to Essendon we’ll give you O’Meara and pick No.8 for pick No.1 and see if the Bombers, considering they’re getting all their top players back, might be willing to drop back a few places in the draft.

“I think that would be a good enough deal to get Essendon to give up the prized No.1 pick. If he chooses another club his value alone is one top-10 pick.”