Swans boss refutes reports over Lance Franklin contract talks, 'bewildered' by Dustin Martin claims
Swans chief executive Tom Harley is confident an agreement will be reached with Lance Franklin after reports the forward was unimpressed with an offer to continue his playing career with Sydney.
According to the Herald Sun, the Swans and Buddy are a long way from agreeing after the club provided a lowball figure for next season, alluring the 1000-goal superstar to explore his playing options elsewhere if a fair deal cannot be struck.
While Franklin and his manager Adam Finch are yet to respond to the report, Harley told SEN the Swans want Franklin to see out the remainder of his career with Sydney.
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Lance Franklin Getty
"I sit very comfortable with the conversations that we are having with Lance and the privacy of those conservations," Harley told SEN on Thursday.
"We also understand at the same time that people will speculate, people will look to unearth stories out of information and I'm not overly concerned with how it [the story] came about.
"Lance is a unique figure and player in the game and with that the conversations are tailored towards that. Inappropriate and unfair to all parties involved to go into specifics. The conversations we're having with Lance are remaining respectful with significant amounts of goodwill, great intent.
"We think Lance has been an amazing contributor to the club, the code and has become iconically Sydney and part of the Sydney Swans family."
Lance Franklin is mobbed by fans on after scoring his 1000th career goal. Getty
Franklin is at the end of his dazzling nine-year deal which saw him move from Hawthorn to Sydney ahead of the 2014 season.
The 35-year-old's rumoured offense adds to speculation that Dustin Martin could leave Richmond to join Sydney.
The report suggested that offering a lower salary to Franklin could potentially provide more resources to lure Martin to the red and the white, conjecture which Harley quickly shut down.
"There's absolutely no link between these two stories, these two players," he said.
"We have had no contact, nor conversations with Dustin Martin, he's not our player and it would be inappropriate for us to do that.
"I am a little bewildered by how the story around Dustin keeps resurfacing and resurfacing with a strong connection to the Swans."
