Essendon chief executive Craig Vozzo has poured cold water on talk that Harley Reid has ruled out the Bombers, insisting the club remains firmly in the frame should the West Coast star look to move.
Speaking ahead of the club’s weekend fixture, Vozzo said he’d personally phoned Reid’s manager Nick Gieschen, to clear the air following media reports suggesting the highly rated midfielder had dismissed Essendon’s interest.
“We had a bit of a laugh the other day when it came out. I rang Nick Gieschen personally to apologise,” Vozzo told SEN and 3AW. “There was something about Essendon not being happy with regards to Harley. Quite to the contrary.”
MORE: Should Toby Greene be sanctioned for Tom Papley sledge?
‘We are open for business’
The Bombers currently hold two top-10 picks and remain active in the player market despite a rough stretch of results on the field. Vozzo confirmed that Essendon would consider trading, splitting picks or chasing elite-level talent.
“We are out to market strongly,” he said. “We are open for business. Whatever we can do to extract the best outcomes—picking early, splitting picks, trading for high-end talent in areas of need—we are definitely open to all sorts of machinations.”
While coach Brad Scott prefers to build through the draft, the club has kept tabs on Reid should a trade request emerge.
Vozzo acknowledged that Essendon’s injury-hit season and poor run of form might make things harder with certain targets, but stressed the Bombers are focused on creating the right long-term environment.
“You try to create an environment for people to thrive. The lack of success no doubt has an impact… but we can only control getting better internally,” he said.