The saga between Jake Stringer and the Western Bulldogs has taken another turn for the worse, with the Bulldogs set to deny Stringer a move of his choice, according to journalist Damian Barrett.
In his weekly segment on Channel Nine's The Footy Show, Barrett said the Dogs are set to offload Stringer to a club that suits their needs, and have effectively said they won't allow Stringer to join his club of choice if that club can't provide the best deal.
โStrangely enough now ... despite effectively sacking Jake Stringer, they are now pushing back on Jake Stringerโs right to publicly nominate a club of choice,โ Barrett said.
โThey feel that they have the right to negotiate this from the outset and choose the best club on their behalf.
โBut Stringerโs not going to be having a bar of that โ he will be choosing a club.โ
The 23-year-old premiership forward spoke to Trade Radio during the week, and still seemed bitter about the split between himself and the club.
Despite not publicly stating his preferred destination, Barrett reported on Thursday night Stringer was keen to head to Geelong, leaning towards the Cats over Essendon due to their leadership qualities.
After originally suggesting they would only part with Stringer for a top selection, Barrett believes the Dogs have calmed on that, and have lessened their asking price.
โThereโs now internal acknowledgment within the Bulldogs that ... some layers of this story have been atrociously handled from within,โ Barrett said.
โFrom Luke Beveridge initially failing to personally tell Jake Stringer that he would be traded to Luke Beveridge going publicly.
โThe effect of him going public with the problems around Jake Stringer have meant that they have significantly reduced their trade currency on getting him off their books.โ
In his five seasons at the Dogs, Stringer has kicked 160 goals from 89 games, and was named as an All-Australian in 2015.
