AFL trades 2015: Melbourne says Jeremy Howe still a chance of staying, confident of striking deal for Jake Melksham

MELBOURNE is hopeful Jeremy Howe will stay at the club but is confident of securing a trade deal for Essendon midfielder Jake Melksham.

Western Bulldogs v Melbourne

MELBOURNE is hopeful Jeremy Howe will stay at the club but is confident of securing a trade deal for Essendon midfielder Jake Melksham.

Howe is seeking a new deal worth $450,000-$500,000 a year but has been unable to agree to terms with the Dees.

But Demons football boss Josh Mahoney said there was “still a chance” of Howe staying at Melbourne.

“When a player makes the decision to put his contract off until the end of the year, a lot of things happen in that time,” Mahoney told Trade Radio on Tuesday afternoon.

“We’ve had discussions with Jeremy throughout. We’ve got an idea of what we think his value is to our footy club and his management has been looking at other clubs and looking at what his value could be elsewhere.”

Mahoney said Melksham was a competitor and the type of player the Demons have been targeting as part of their list build strategy.

“At the moment he’s indicated that he wants to join Melbourne and during the trade period, which doesn’t start until next week, we’ll work on what that looks like,” he said.

Melbourne may need to part with a second-round pick to secure Jake Melksham. Picture: Michael Klein

Mahoney wouldn’t elaborate what Melbourne would need to trade to complete a deal with Essendon, but the Bombers are expected to demand a second-round draft pick.

Jack Watts seems certain of remaining a Demon with Mahoney saying “at this stage I think he will be”.

He also confirmed the Demons’ interest in Collingwood’s Ben Kennedy, 21, and Greater Western Sydney’s Tomas Bugg, 22.

Bugg has played 65 games over four seasons with the Giants over, including 16 matches this year, but want to return home to Victoria.

“He (Kennedy) was drafted a few years ago and our recruiting guys really liked him back then, so we’ve monitored him closely,” Mahoney said.

“(Bugg) is another player we’ve got some interest in. Again, it depends on his involvement with GWS but he’s someone we think could help us.”

Bugg’s manager Tom Petroro said Melbourne was “a chance” of gettimg Bugg.

“Tom’s a good young kid ... Melbourne have come out and said they’re really looking for inside players that are really good competitors, and can play a role either back and mid or forward and mid,” Petroro told SEN.

Mahoney said there were “no guarantees” Jimmy Toumpas would be at Melbourne.

Toumpas, the No.4 pick in the 2012 draft, has played just 27 games and is expected to head home to South Australia, possibly to Port Adelaide.

Originally published as AFL trades 2015: Melbourne says Jeremy Howe still a chance of staying, confident of striking deal for Jake Melksham