BOTH Sydney and Dan Hannebery are open to a deal that would see the midfielder traded to a Victorian club at season’s end.

And St Kilda has already made a significant play for the premiership Swan’s services, offering him a long-term deal worth five years.

Foxfooty.com.au has learned the Swans will not actively ‘shop’ the 27 year-old around, nor will Hannebery aggressively seek to break his long-term contract.

But if the right deal presents itself, the Swans and Hannebery would amicably part ways on good terms.

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For a player that has been part of the fabric at one of the AFL’s most consistent clubs, it’s understood Hannebery is now comfortable with the prospect of returning home and making a fresh start, but not hellbent on it.

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Reports surfaced on Monday night that St Kilda had offered Hannebery a five-year contract — an offer foxfooty.com.au believes is true.

Saints coach Alan Richardson told Fox Footy’s AFL 360 that offer “would surprise (him),” but stopped short of denying the story.

“I can’t give you an absolute answer on that,” Richardson said.

“If it that someone like Dan Hannebery is going to leave this footy club, then my want from a list management view was to explore that strongly.”

Hannebery’s form has dipped from his usual lofty standards this year, largely due to a non-existent pre-season and a series of soft tissue injuries.

He became the youngest ever Swan to reach 200 games against Carlton in Round 11, but has managed just four games since due to persistent calf and groin complaints. The left-footer’s numbers are the lowest they’ve been since his debut season in 2009, when he was in Year 12 at Xavier College.

Dan Hannebery in action against Carlton earlier this season. (AAP Image/David Moir) Source: AAP

His manager Nick Gieschen of TLA did not return Fox Footy’s calls, but Sydney insiders have suggested he tried and failed to get Hannebery a contract extension earlier this year.

The clear stumbling block in any potential trade relates to Hannebery’s lucrative contract of $800,000 per year, which does not expire until the end of 2021.

There will not be a prospective club that will be willing to foot the entire bill, meaning the Swans would have to contribute around one-quarter of his annual salary for the remaining three seasons of the deal he signed in mid-2015.

Back then, Melbourne reportedly offered Hannebery a seven-year deal worth close to $1 million per season and there are suggestions the Dees will target the three-time all-Australian again, albeit on a reduced pay packet.

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Richmond also chased the Victorian, as did North Melbourne. Meanwhile, the Dogs could also throw their hat in the ring given Hannebery’s family connection to the club. Father Matt Hannebery played 32 games for Footscray in the late 1980s and 1990.

“I actually didn’t even speak to any clubs at all, I would just speak to my manager and he would just say what was on the table,” Hannebery said on SEN Breakfast about the 2015 period.

“I thought initially it was nice and I was sort of humbled by that, (but) I just would basically say ‘That’s great and I’m appreciative that you’re helping me out here and looking for that, but I don’t want to leave and I want to say in Sydney, so let’s get a deal done.’

“I think if it progressed and I said I was interested in any of those offers … the manager or clubs would maybe set up a meeting maybe with a coach or another player from there but it never got that far down the track for me.”

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