Essendon coach Brad Scott remained tight-lipped around the club's decision to pursue West Coast wunderkind Harley Reid.

Scott was seen on Channel 7's The Agenda Setters and was quizzed about the Bombers' pursuit of Reid, despite the Eagle being contracted until the end of 2026.

The former Pick 1 hails from Victoria, and will attract multiple clubs if he were to leave Western Australia, with Geelong and Hawthorn also expected to be in the running.

But the Bombers, who currently sit with two first-round picks inside the top 10, pose curiously in the Reid negotiations, as well as two second-round selections from last year's trade dealings.

"I like to think my opinion at list management counts for something," Scott said.

"We wanted to put ourselves in a position as a club that we had flexibility; whether that be to go to the draft with two first and two second-round picks, or to be an active player in the trade period and free agency.

"They're the three main mechanisms, free agency, trading and the draft โ€” and we have significant capital in all three of those."

Essendon's strong draft hand is also complemented by its existing relationship with Reid, who spent time in the club's VFL side and training program as a part of the AIS Academy.

The Tongala product featured in the reserves for the Bombers, playing predominantly midfield against the Southport Sharks, racking up 23 disposals, six clearances, seven marks and a Harley hanger.

"I love the way he goes about it. We have had Harley down to our club, he spent his couple of weeks as an AIS Academy graduate in our program, he played in our VFL team," Scott added.

"I love the way he goes about it; I love his emotion, love his aggression.

"We've certainly got a relationship through that small amount of time, but I suspect there's a lot of other clubs that think they've got good relationships with him too."

Another interesting point that should be noted is the relationship he has with Bombers wingman Xavier Duursma.

Reid is currently dating Duursma's younger sister, Yasmin, who plays for Carlton's AFLW team.

The former Port Adelaide player recently leapt to the defence of the Eagles star amid heavy scrutiny after an indifferent start to his second season in the AFL.

"There is a lot of pressure that comes with being so highly touted and so talented as Harley is," Duursma told 3AW two weeks ago.

"But at the same time, I think there's also some pretty unfair comments around him and his actions and things like that.

"He's only a 19-year-old kid and he's learning as he's going... he is an incredibly high standards person and player, but I think at the same time there's been some pretty unfair criticisms of him."

AFL Media's Callum Twomey reported that the Eagles put forward multiple contract options in a major bid to have Reid stay at the club, including a three-year deal and a five-year deal.