Former St Kilda and North Melbourne midfielder Nick Dal Santo isn't convinced about the Blues' acquisition of former Carlton star Eddie Betts.

Betts left the Blues for Adelaide at the end of the 2013 season, and has returned to Ikon Park as a 33-year-old.

With Carlton currently in the middle of a resurgence up the ladder led by the club's youth, Dal Santo isn't sure the small forward fits in with the nucleus of the club's list.

“The jury is still out for me,” Dal Santo said on SEN Summer Breakfast.

“It’s against the list strategy of where (Carlton) currently at, if I was list manager it doesn’t fit the process of where they currently at.

“I still think Eddie Betts still has good football in him, maybe not the Eddie Betts of a couple of years ago but I still see him kicking 30 goals next year. That’s serviceable and all you want from him.

“The bit we need to take into account when we are analysing players like this is the commercial value and what Eddie Betts can bring from an educational point of view.

“And I’m a massive believer in education, I think our system is too quick to move players out when they’re no longer at their best.”

Betts has played 316 games across his career, kicking 290 goals in 184 games for Carlton, while booting 310 goals in 132 games for the Crows.