All-Australian defender Callum Wilkie does not want out of St Kilda, according to Saints coach Ross Lyon.
A report from South Australian writer Michelangelo Rucci earlier in the week said Wilkie was among a list of Saints players that were seeking to leave the club due to fallout from large contracts offered to Carlton ruckman Tom De Koning and GWS defender Leek Aleer.
However, Lyon put those rumours to bed when he relayed a recent phone call between himself and Wilkie during an interview on Footy Classified.
"Callum Wilkie rang me, he goes, 'I've never entertained leaving St Kilda, I love St Kilda, Ross. I love what we are doing'," Lyon said.
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"That was 6:30pm tonight.
"[He said] 'Am I concerned like the rest of us about Nasiah? Can we get him done?
"I said, 'absolutely, well so am I mate'."
Lyon then took aim at the writer of the initial report Rucci, slamming the Port Adelaide-employed scribe's story as having 'no substance'.
"There’s a lot of half-baked stories, that’s what I see," Lyon said on Footy Classified.
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"I heard the Rucci stuff, I listened to it, and I thought it was two old blokes having a beer and a barbecue in the backyard.
"There’s unrest and Wilkie and Marshall will be somewhere else and they’ve got to trade Steele out to free their cap. There was no substance, no rigour.
"Rooch, you send me postcards from Italy where you’re herding the sheep. To be honest, you’re a Port Adelaide nuffy. Let’s move on.
"Without being denigrating, but does he write content for the Port Adelaide SANFL club? Is he a mad Port Adelaide (fan)? Are they trying to get us in a bit of turmoil?
"Is that what’s happened to Collingwood? Everyone is trying to unsettle Collingwood. Next minute (Darcy) Cameron has signed. It’s all part of the theatre, it’s all part of feeding the chooks. No problem."