Collingwood midfielder Jordan De Goey has addressed the trade rumours that swept through the 2025 exchange period, saying he was “surprised” by the whole saga
De Goey’s name was mentioned as a potential trade option, as reports indicated that rival clubs were monitoring his willingness to move.
It was revealed that the Pies, for the right price, would be open to moving on the matchwinner in a bid to gain much-needed draft capital for November’s intake..
De Goey, who was in Bali at the time, revealed that the “whispers grew legs and started running”, although he had no intention of departing the AIA Centre.
“I was actually in Bali with my partner,” De Goey told SEN’s The Run Home.
“I didn’t really hear a lot of it. Heard a few little whispers here and there, and I think after ‘Cornesy’ (Kane Cornes) came out and said I’d be a good trade target, the thing just grew legs and started running.
“After that, it was on for young and old, but for us, we maintained the same answer the whole time.
“We were happy at Collingwood, nothing seems to be changing from our end, and the club were exactly the same.”
The chatter around De Goey’s future sparked enough interest from rival clubs, to a point where manager Ryan Vague was receiving calls.
“My manager started getting calls,” De Goey revealed.
“For ‘Leppa’ (Justin Leppitsch, Collingwood list manager), he was like, ‘is this happening? Are you going to other clubs?’ We were like, ‘nah, none of this is happening! This is just the rumour mill’.
“Once a few people start talking, everyone starts talking.”
However, De Goey, who’s been in the AFL for over a decade, is well aware of the current climate regarding player movement.
The 29-year-old, despite declaring his future at Collingwood, said he’d be “stupid” to think players’ names weren’t thrown at the wall to see what would stick.
“To be honest, I’m 29 now. I’m not stupid, I think every player on a list is available for the right price, or if the club is going to get something good out of it,” he said.
“For me, I know that’s the way the industry is going; you’ve got to be open to stuff like that happening because it’s happening so much these days. We just saw in the recent trade period, some of the players that were tossed around.
“For me, my whole footy journey, you’re always open to offers and everything like that. You’d be silly not to. But in this case, I’m quite happy at Collingwood.
“I don’t really see my future anywhere else, especially at this particular time.”
