Sydney is likely to know by the end of the week whether or not they'll have to trade out of contract Swans star Tom Mitchell. Mitchell's manager Phil Mullen is expected to meet with Tom Harley this week.
"We agreed that we would meet at some time this week and we will go from there. It's status quo at the minute" Mullen said.
"I said I would deal with the Swans and that's how we'll play it."
The Swans have made it clear throughout the season that they want to keep the midfield hard nut, but have been told on many occasions, privately and publicly, that they need to up their offer for Mitchell to sign. The latest twist in the contract saga is that the gap between the offer (reportedly $380k/season) and what he's worth ($550k) is too much to overcome.
It was reported in June that he was about to sign a contract extension with the club and expressed his desire to stay with the club, echo'd by his manager at the time.
"We got together yesterday and will have a definite result by the end of next week I would expect," Mullen said.
"We have not agreed on anything specific yet but I am confident by the end of next week we will have something done. He has been here five years and is close to his teammates and has become a real Sydney boy."
The Swans have made it clear that they want him, but Mitchell has previously flirted with Carlton when his last contract extension was signed a year ago, so it's not entirely unlikely that he'll stay.
At this point no one can say where he'll end up, just that no one actually knows. The club have depth in the midfield and can cover his loss, but being the 2nd best midfielder in the grand final will be hard to replace. There's a lot of nonsense and shenanigans at this time of the year as managers tend to flirt and tart about to get the best deal they can. I suspect that there'll be a bit of horse-trading to get this one over the line should it go to trade week.
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