Friends and teammates of maligned Melbourne forward Jack Watts are anticipating the former No. 1 draft pick will head to Port Adelaide during the Trade Period.

Watts, who has played 153 games across nine years at the Demons, is expected to be offloaded to a rival club despite being contracted for two more years.

Jack Watts celebrates a goal for the Dees in 2017. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images

Collingwood are keen to recruit the goal-kicking swingman but the Power are understood to be frontrunners, with Watts believing a move interstate could help revive his up-and-down career.

Friends of Watts have told ESPN that the 2008 Larke Medallist is in a "shocking situation" and a move away from the Demons will "greatly benefit his career".

Demons football operations boss Josh Mahoney this week hit out at the 26-year-old, saying he had failed to deliver on what had been expected of his talent and experience.

"He should be a much better player than he's played so far," Mahoney told AFL Trade Radio. "We think he's got a lot of improvement left in him and if that's at Melbourne Football Club, that's great; if it's at another club then it's good luck to him as well.

"We've been very clear this is about performance, and there was some talk it might be about money. But it's definitely not about money. It's about performance and our expectations on a nine-year, 150-game player."

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

But should a move away from AAMI Park fail to eventuate, the Demons will honour Watts' contract.

Watts was unfairly heralded as the club's great hope when he was prematurely given a game in a Queen's Birthday blockbuster against Collingwood in 2009. His hasty AFL introduction and the unprecedented scrutiny of the hugely talented junior have served to hamper his development.