Heat on Saints as sudden trade backflip leaves GWS defender Leek Aleer ‘shattered’

The heat is on St Kilda to explain their decision to backtrack on a big-money contract offer to GWS defender Leek Aleer four weeks after he requested a trade to the club.

Aleer, 24, was all set to take up a four-year deal with the Saints as they splashed the cash in a busy AFL trade period headlined by the recruitment of Carlton free agent Tom De Koning.

But on the day St Kilda added West Coast premiership player Liam Ryan, having also signed Blues father-son Jack Silvagni and Gold Coast midfielder Sam Flanders, news emerged they had pulled out of talks to secure Aleer.

Aleer is said to be shattered and now faces an uncertain future, though other Victorian clubs could still come calling and the Giants are believed to have an offer still on the table.

“This is a real head-scratcher,” 7NEWS Melbourne’s Mitch Cleary said.

“The Saints made assurances to Leek Aleer he would be their fifth off-season target but today blindsided him while he was on holidays in Barcelona, telling the shattered 24-year-old they’re out despite Aleer being out of contract and having the pre-season draft at their disposal.”

Any deal Aleer will get is unlikely to be as sweet as what the Saints proposed.

GWS have already signed Jayden Laverde from Essendon, ensuring Aleer is no guarantee to find the regular game time he wants if he stays, while Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver is set to take up another list spot.

“The Saints have to speak on this,” former Adelaide and Geelong forward Josh Jenkins said on Trade Radio.

“They can’t sit back and say ‘it was only speculation that we were interested and we weren’t fully across the line and we had a look at Leek and didn’t commit’.

“They have to get in front of this because we’ve already heard from them at different stages, we know they have been a long way down the line on this.

“Instead of using a second-round pick to get the deal done for Leek Aleer they’ve included it in the Liam Ryan deal.”

St Kilda have been aggressively chasing rival players for years and their approach has finally paid off this month on the back of Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera’s decision to stick around.

This move, though, could now leave a mark.

“St Kilda will pay a price for this, make no mistake about it,” Jenkins added.

“Managers will sit back and take notice of this, and this is why this doesn’t happen.

“For all the times we might’ve sat here and said ‘oh would you walk that deal back?’ It’s easy for us to say it, it’s next to impossible for clubs to do it because you run the risk of every player agent sitting back and saying ‘you know what, I don’t know if I’d be doing a deal with St Kilda because you know what, it’s not a guarantee’.”

Collingwood and the Bulldogs both chased Silvagni and could now theoretically sense an opportunity, with ex-Crows coach Brenton Sanderson saying the latter would be a “great fit” for Aleer.