THE MOOTED deal to give Gary Ablett a fairytale homecoming back to Geelong is "not that close" to being finalised, Cats list manager Stephen Wells says.
Ablett is mourning the death of his elder sister Natasha who passed away last week.
The Gold Coast superstar tried to return to Geelong at the end of 2016 before officially making the request again this September, citing being closer to family as one of his reasons for wanting to come back to Victoria.
Wells told RSN on Monday morning more work needed to be done with the Suns, despite Geelong having received a bonus with pick No.19 in this year's NAB AFL Draft coming as compensation for losing Steven Motlop to Port Adelaide as a free agent.
Many had expected that pick to fall in the second round.
"Discussions are ongoing. Nothing's really changed there. Gary's made it clear a couple of times now over the last 12 months that he'd like to get back to Victoria with his family and to Geelong, so discussions are going on there," Wells said.
"We can't go too far with a trade, in terms of what we're going to give up. Hopefully something can evolve over the next three days.
"Right now, as it sits, we're not that close to getting a deal done."
The Cats' No.19 selection is unlikely to be used on Melbourne forward Jack Watts.
Geelong had a list management meeting on Monday morning but Wells did not expect the club's position to change.
"We had good interest in Jack Watts but we just didn't think we could do a deal with Melbourne. Clearly we've got more to deal with now but … I think right now, we'd be holding on to pick No.19 rather than trading it to Melbourne for Jack Watts," Wells said.
The Cats also have No.22, acquired last year in the trade with Carlton for Zach Tuohy. Not that it is going anywhere.
"I think we'd be holding on to that one too," Wells said.
Meanwhile, forward Daniel Menzel is expected to be back at the Cattery after his search for a two-year deal from rival clubs as an unrestricted free agent came up short.
"He didn't get that contract offer from any other club. I'm sure there was plenty of interest in Dan, it was just a matter of whether they could fit him in or not," Wells said.
"Anyway, that didn't happen, and speaking to Dan's manager over the weekend, unless something surprising happens over the next three or four days and he comes to us and says he has found a club willing to trade for him, we're expecting Dan at day one of pre-season training."
