North Melbourne's Ash Riddell has been linked to Sydney ahead of their first season in the AFLW.
Sydney is understood to have put an offer in front of the midfielder, according to Riley Beveridge on womens.afl.
Riddell has played 30 games for the Roos, with the Swans to join Port Adelaide, Essendon and Hawthorn in entering the league, which will see the AFLW reach 18 teams just like their male counterparts.
Scott Gowans, who coached Riddell at North Melbourne until the 2020 season, has been announced as the Swans' inaugural coach and had been a key factor in the Roos' signing of Riddell for the 2019 season.
Gowans was also crucial in seeing Riddell move from Diamond Creek to Melbourne University for the 2018 VFLW campaign.
Riddell is the clear favourite for the AFLW best and fairest award after an outstanding season, which has seen the midfielder named in the AFLW All-Australian squad of 40. After averaging 29.3 disposals a game in 2022, Riddell would be a shoo-in for the side, which would be the second successive year the 26-year-old has made the All-Australian team.
The dynamic midfielder set the record for the most disposals ever in an AFLW game, recording a whopping 42 touches against the West Coast Eagles in Round 10.
The Swans have been anything but tardy in establishing their inaugural list, having made a plethora of signings last week.
Riddell's signature would be a major coup, and would ironically follow in the footsteps of North Melbourne's list-building strategy if she were to win the AFLW best and fairest award. The Roos, before their inaugural season in 2019, signed reigning league best and fairest Emma Kearney, who moved from the Bulldogs to become the skipper at Arden Street.
The Roos' 2022 season ended at the hands of Fremantle in the first week of finals, after covid chaos saw games postponed and the finals series pushed back.
