Chris Scott is confident Geelong will ward off interest from rival AFL clubs to sign talented forward Daniel Menzel to a new deal.
Menzel, who is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, has reportedly been targeted by St Kilda with a multi-year contract.
The Cats have been firm on only signing the 26-year-old to one-year contracts given his injury history that includes four knee reconstructions.
"We want Dan to stay and contract negotiations began mid-year at the latest," Scott said on Fox Footy's AFL360.
"We'd like him to stay, but he's an unrestricted free agent and it's his right, as a player that's out of contract, to have a look at his options.
"I think there have been some reports about his wage being quite low, which I'm told ... are wrong and really wrong.
"We'd like Dan to stay and we'd like him to sign a contract with us but we respect St Kilda and all the other clubs' rights to investigate the situation.
"... My suspicion is that Dan will stay with us."
The Saints will finish in the bottom four when their hugely disappointing season is over and are desperately in need of an injection of talent.
While he is an injury risk, Menzel would immediately upgrade St Kilda's attack.
Alan Richardson, who was sitting across from Scott at the AFL360 desk, was reluctant to discuss specifics of his club's recruiting strategy.
"We've said that we're going to be aggressive, we're going to look at free agents, we're going to look at trades and we're certainly doing a lot of work on the national draft," Richardson said.
"We're going to look for quality players that can support our list (but) I'm not going to talk about any individuals."
