Gold Coast youngster Bailey Humphrey spotting meeting Melbourne as several club circle
The sighting comes just hours after his manager declared he was not speaking to anyone.
Gold Coast youngster Bailey Humphrey has been spotted meeting with new Melbourne coach Stephen King and Demons assistant Nathan Jones.
The Suns star has met with several clubs as he continues to weigh up his future, despite having three years to run on a contract that the Suns insist will not be broken.
Gold Coast are adamant that Humphrey won’t be traded.
But that hasn’t stopped Melbourne, as well as Collingwood, Carlton and Hawthorn, all reaching out to the 21-year-old, who was drafted with pick No.6 in 2022.
An image of Humphrey walking with King and Jones emerged just hours after the Suns star’s manager declared he had not met with any clubs.
It’s understood Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick is a big believer in the talent of Humphrey, who he does not want traded under any circumstances.
Former Adelaide full forward Josh Jenkins said the Suns need to dig their heels in on that stance.
“If I’m Damien Hardwick and Gold Coast, I would ring Bailey Humphrey right now and say, ‘You are free to as meet with any clubs you want, but you are going nowhere’,” Jenkins said on Trade Radio.
“There is no world where Bailey Humphrey is not playing for my football club if I am Damien Hardwick.
“Join the queue; the queue can be 17-long — he ain’t going anywhere.”
Humphrey was used in bursts as a midfielder for the Suns, but mostly as a hybrid forward, with the likes of Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson and Touk Miller owning most of the midfield minutes.
Rival clubs are selling him the opportunity to play more time as a pure midfielder.
Collingwood emerged as one of those on Friday afternoon.
“Collingwood has also met with Bailey Humphrey over a move to Olympic Park,” 7NEWS Melbourne’s Xander McGuire said.
“There has been sustained interest in putting Humphrey in black and white stripes, despite an awareness of how difficult it would be to strike a deal.”