Carlton captain Patrick Cripps is "pretty confident" that the club won't lose spearhead forward Charlie Curnow to a rival this off-season.
Curnow has been linked to a sea change, with Gold Coast, Sydney and Geelong considering making a play for the two-time Coleman Medallist.
Collingwood is also launching an "audacious bid", but would struggle to lure him to the AIA Centre given the lack of draft picks and tradeable prospects.
But the Blues skipper can't see the contracted Curnow departing Ikon Park.
"I'm pretty confident (he'll stay)," Cripps told 3AW.
"I'm a pretty good mate of Charles'. You don't get too many players of his calibre that play AFL footy.
"I'm just there as a mate for him. It's obviously been a really tough year for him. He had a lot of injuries.
"I'm sure he'd be the same. There'd be a lot of us who weren't totally satisfied with the year, both personally and as a team.
"I'll always back him in. He knows I've got his back, and I know he's got mine.
"It will be interesting to see what happens, but I've got a lot of support for the big fella."
Curnow is locked away until the end of 2029, but has endured a horror 15 months littered with injuries and minor setbacks.
