Brisbane champion Jonathan Brown believes Carlton are in the best position to recruit Josh Kelly should he decide to leave the Giants at the end of the season.
Kelly has been one of GWS' best performers in 2017, and is averaging 29.3 disposals, 6.9 tackles and 5.2 clearances a game, all of which are career highs for the 22-year-old.
The midfielder has become one of the hottest commodities over the first half of the season, with St Kilda and North Melbourne both reportedly after the Giant, with the Roos offering Kelly a nine-year multi-million dollar deal earlier this year.
Brown confirmed both North and the Saints' interest on Fox Footy's On The Couch on Monday night, but added the Blues have now skipped the queue and have moved to the front of the line for Kelly's services.
“Everyone’s talking about St Kilda and North Melbourne with Josh Kelly as his most likely landing spots if he does leave GWS. But my understanding is that Carlton is well and truly in this race,” Brown said on Monday.
“And it’s almost to the point where they’re the frontrunner in this race.
“He’s obviously got a connection with the Carlton boys, there’s a few of his ex-teammates there, he’s friends with a few of those boys that are at Carlton. He's got a good relationship with Stephen Silvagni.
“My understanding is behind the scenes Carlton is having a red hot crack for Kelly.”
Kelly and his manager Paul Connors met with Giants officials as recently as Monday to discuss his contract, with the Giants reportedly keeping their two-year deal on the table for the youngster.
Brown couldn't decide whether Kelly will stay or go at the end of the season, but said if he did decide to leave the Giants, he would be playing at the Blues in 2018.
“I think it’s six of one, half a dozen of the other (as to whether Kelly will stay or go),” he said.
“I think the lure of winning a premiership in the next couple of years would almost entice Josh Kelly to stay, maybe two more years at GWS. But I can’t see him signing a long-term deal, especially at GWS.
“I can see him signing a long-term deal at Carlton.
“He’d take a five-year deal, I can’t see him taking a ten-year deal — we’ve seen the way the salary cap has increased with these new TV deals. You’d be mad if you took a ten-year deal.”
