Carlton coach Michael Voss has confirmed the club has told contracted midfielder Elijah Hollands to seek a move elsewhere this off-season.
Hollands, who spent most of the 2025 season on the sidelines for personal reasons, came to the club under controversial circumstances, starting his tenure with the Blues suspended due to a drug matter.
The 23-year-old went on to enjoy a stellar first year in the navy blue last year before facing further issues early into 2025, with Hollands playing just five games at senior level this year.
Hollands has since been told to seek a move to a third club, having started his career with Gold Coast as a top 10 selection from 2020.
Speaking on SEN on Monday, Voss said the club has been left disappointed by Hollands, who won't have a desired trade knocked back by the Blues.
"Yeah, that's correct," Voss confirmed of the club's talks with Hollands.
"In that discussion was '(it's) up to you to be able to look around and find out does another place suit you'. That's obviously a discussion we had with him, and he's clear on where we stand with that. It's up to him to be able to go and explore those options and what they look like.
"We've been a little bit disappointed with how [his situation] has transpired across the whole year. He's been quite an important player to us.
"Over the course of the previous year, he had a real influence on the way we played, but the year hasn't gone the way we wanted with 'Lij'.
"The conversation was that if there's another place that's going to get the best out of you, then this is the time to go and look for that."
Voss said the Blues are likely to 'pick up' the last year of Hollands' contract with Carlton for 2026 should he fail to earn interest from elsewhere.
The Wodonga junior has played a total of 41 career games at AFL level, with his time in Queensland also limited due to an ACL injury sustained prior to his draft.
In 2024, Hollands averaged 17.77 disposals and 4.55 marks per game under Voss, and was awarded three Brownlow votes in his side's Round 13 win over Essendon that year.
