UPDATE: CARLTON midfield gun Patrick Cripps has debunked rumours he will seek a trade at the end of the season.

Port Adelaide 300-gamer Kane Cornes floated the possibility of Cripps heading home to Western Australia as part of a potential blockbuster trade for Fremantle’s Nathan Fyfe.

“I actually found it pretty funny when I found out, a mate texted me back home with the old jumper swap, but I can tell you it’s not true,” Cripps said on Thursday afternoon in a video posted on Carlton’s twitter account.

“I signed a contract extension last year to show that I was really happy at the Blues.

“I know as a club we’re heading in the right direction withthe coaching staff and the young players and older players we’ve got at the club now, I’m really excited by what the future holds at Carlton.”

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On Wednesday night Cornes said the Dockers were lining up trade targets of their own should Fyfe decide to leave when his contract expires at the end of this season — and Cripps was top of the list.

Will Patrick Cripps be at Fremantle and Nat Fyfe at Carlton in 2018? @kanecornes thinks it could happen. #WordOnTheStreet pic.twitter.com/mMWxdzRdnC — Sportsday SA (@SportsdaySA) February 1, 2017

Cripps manager Matthew Bain told the Herald Sun today the claims were ridiculous and had not been checked with him by Cornes.

“Patrick has captaincy aspirations and couldn’t be happier at Carlton, so we don’t know where those rumours have come from,” Bain said.

Blues chief executive Steven Trigg also said the trade talk was absurd.

“The first thing is I was looking out the window this morning at Patrick as he returns to full training, and he’s motoring really well. We are very confident he plays in Round 1,” he said on SEN.

“As for all the other (rumours), to be honest it’s just a furphy.

“He is genuinely welded to Carlton and life in Melbourne ... so I’m not sure where Kane's dragged that one from, but we’re aiming to keep Patrick, don’t worry.”

Cornes stoked the rumour fire, saying Fyfe had attracted huge interest from three Melbourne clubs.

media_camera Nat Fyfe’s manager has had his say on the rumours. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

“The bidding war around Nat Fyfe ... is now down to three clubs. They are three Melbourne clubs: St Kilda, Hawthorn and Carlton,” Cornes said on South Australian radio program SportsdaySA.

“He potentially could stay … they’re trying to keep him, but they’re also coming up with a plan B. They don’t have the contract of Matthew Pavlich, Aaron Sandilands gets paid a lot of money, it’s probably his last year, if they lose Nat Fyfe they have a bucketload of cash to spend.

“Mitch McGovern will feature in that contract debate, they’ll try and get him, but one other player, and he plays for Carlton, is a very good chance of heading home, that is Patrick Cripps of the Carlton footy club, their next captain-in-waiting at Carlton, potentially wants to move home.”

media_camera Patrick Cripps is a key part of Brendon Bolton’s plans for Carlton. Picture: Michael Klein

Fyfe’s manager Jason Dover told the Herald Sun this week the Dockers were in weekly talks with him about a deal for Fyfe.

“We have said we would get through the summer and evaluate when the games are being played again,” he said.

“We haven’t put it on hold until the end of the year. We are open, I talk to Fremantle every week.

“We haven’t started negotiations and we haven’t stopped. There is no definitive timeline. He is contracted for 2017 so there is no great urgency.”

Former Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich said he would be “staggered” if Fyfe left after discussions with him about his contract.

Trigg added he was “confident” Bryce Gibbs would remain at Carlton beyond this year after a failed trade bid at the end of last season.

“The reality is he hasn’t missed a beat. He’s been welcomed back and embraced and internally it just hasn’t been spoken about.”

WA-bred McGovern has put contract talks with Adelaide on hold until the end of the season and seems a likely player in this year’s trade period.

The Cripps situation is a bit more complicated.

The 21-year-old, who finished third in the 2016 best-and-fairest after winning the award the previous year, signed a contract extension last February that ties him to the club until the end of 2019.

That means even if he did want to go home — Cripps hails from Northampton, 500km north of Perth — Carlton would have to agree to a trade. And the Crows’ failed bid to land Gibbs at the end of last year shows they don’t just roll over on those.