Blues forward Charlie Curnow has reportedly met with Sydney Swans senior coach Dean Cox ahead of an intriguing off-season for the superstar, with the talk centred around a potential trade, according to 7 News' Mitch Cleary.
The report comes on the same day that SEN's Sam Edmund claimed Curnow would be "willing to take a pay cut" if it meant making a move to a rival club easier. Edmund stated that Curnow is particularly willing to do this if it means engineering a trade to Geelong, who have been listed alongside Sydney and Gold Coast as his preferred destinations.
Curnow told Carlton senior coach Michael Voss and incoming CEO Graham Wright at his exit meeting last week that he would be open to moving to another club. However, Carlton has shut down the idea and remains adamant that Curnow will be a Blue in 2026.
Voss highlighted that stance while speaking on SEN's Fireball on Monday, but admitted discussions with Curnow would continue to take place "behind closed doors".
As discussed on @SENSportsday Charlie Curnow is willing to take a pay cut in a bid to engineer a trade away from Carlton, particularly if it was to Geelong. The forward has left for an overseas holiday and there is lots to play out, but it’s known he would adjust the remainder of…
— Sam Edmund (@Sammy__Edmund) September 1, 2025
"Obviously, from our position, it was pretty clear, so we don't feel like we're in that position to want to go down that path," Voss said.
"That position was well and truly communicated back to him, and then, from that point on, we moved on to other topics, and talked about his year and how we can make him better and get back to that striking form he had only 12 months ago.
"Our position is pretty clear. It's been stated, I don't even know publicly whether we've said anything, but he'll be at Carlton in 2026.
"Those discussions, if there are any others, we'll continue to have behind closed doors.
"He's a two-time Coleman medallist, it could have been three, who has four years to run on a contract. We feel like he's an incredibly important person to us.
"He'll figure for us moving forward, and hopefully he's playing out the rest of his career here."
It is unclear what a package would look like for the 2023 Coleman medallist, though interestingly, Swans livewire Tom Papley requested a move to Carlton in 2019. Ultimately, Papley remained in Sydney and is currently contracted with the Swans until 2028, with his inclusion in a deal for Curnow seemingly unlikely.
