Premiership star Kysaiah Pickett has reportedly informed Melbourne that he would prefer to be traded to a WA club if he departs the Demons at season’s end.

It’s understood the 23-year-old, who won a flag alongside Luke Jackson at the Demons in 2021, expressed homesickness in his exit meeting with Melbourne on Tuesday.

Pickett is contracted until the end of 2027, meaning the Demons must be willing to field offers for the 106-gamer, who was drafted with pick 12 in 2019.

He also has family links to South Australia, having been drafted out of the SANFL but reports have emerged that Pickett has told Melbourne his preference, if he is to be traded, is to a WA club, according to Nine’s Tom Morris.

Pickett also has links to West Coast through cousin Liam Ryan and former teammate Jayden Hunt, which Morris reports would put them front of the queue.

But 7NEWS Melbourne journalist Theo Doropolous has reported the Dockers would be Pickett’s preference, should he ask for a trade.

“The Dockers are fully aware of Pickett’s desire to join them in the event he chooses to leave Melbourne,” Doropolous said.

However, the Demons are confident in retaining Pickett, who welcomed his first child earlier this year.

President Kate Roffey confirmed Pickett’s concerns but refuted claims he had raised the prospect of a trade

“(Pickett) is homesick, they all get homesick from time to time. Kozzie is a home person, he’s got a beautiful little baby and his family, there’s some in South Australia, some in WA,” Roffey told SEN.

“He gets homesick but we work through that with Kozzie, it’s not a new thing. That was a conversation about him being homesick, it wasn’t a conversation about him asking for a trade or leaving the football club.

“Harry Petty, he was homesick, he thought about going back home, he signed up with the club. We can work through those things.

“It’s about how we help Kozzie be connected with his family when he needs to be connected with them. (A trade) is not even a consideration from his management.”

Melbourne are already dealing with the bombshell news that Norm Smith Medallist Christian Petracca wants to leave the club.

Premiership forward Alex Neal-Bullen has already requested a trade to South Australia, while key defender Adam Tomlinson is also exploring his options.

Regardless of which club he is at in 2025, Pickett will miss the first three games of the season with suspension for a bump on Collingwood captain Darcy Moore.

The Demons are not playing finals this season for the first time since they won the premiership at Optus Stadium in 2021, following back-to-back straight sets exits in 2022 and 2023.