SAM MITCHELL will be returning to Victoria to continue his AFL assistant coaching career.

Having spent the past two seasons with West Coast – 2017 as a player in a team which reached a semi-final, and this year as an assistant coach – Mitchell has recently told key Eagles officials he will be leaving.

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Mitchell is considered a senior coach in waiting after a glittering 329-game career that included four premierships, five best and fairests and the Brownlow Medal in 2012.

He has been a key off-field part of the Eagles' success to this point of 2018, where they enter round 19 in second position.

There will be fierce brokering by Victorian clubs for his services.

It is believed Mitchell agreed to a four-year deal with the Eagles when he shocked the industry in exiting the Hawks at the end of 2016.