North Melbourne are reportedly set to land the man they covet with the news to be announced next week.
The bottom of the ladder club have offered master coach Alastair Clarkson a monster five-year contract, according to The Age’s Jake Niall.
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Clarkson’s signature has been the hottest commodity around the league with multiple clubs said to be chasing his services.
Along with North Melbourne, the GWS Giants were in hot pursuit of the mastermind who led Hawthorn to four premiership victories.
The Giants have not yet offered Clarkson a contract and while Niall reports Clarkson has not yet responded to North’s offer – Triple M’s Tom Browne says otherwise.
“Coaching update, this is just dot joining according to sources you speak to. There’s not a lot of leaks coming from North Melbourne or the Giants coaching process,” Browne said on Triple M.
“It’s certainly the strong view of sources that I speak to that Alastair Clarkson will end up as soon as next Friday at North Melbourne.
“That remains to be seen but that’s the consistent view that I’m getting is that North Melbourne is very much in the box seat to land Alastair Clarkson for a whole host of reasons.
“The Giants are now looking closely, very closely, at Adem Yze and I think they will also sound out Ross Lyon at some point in their process as well.
“Yze Giants, Clarkson North is the jungle drums in terms of the sources that I speak to at the moment.”
Journalist Mark Robinson believes a Clarkson-North Melbourne deal is “past the post”.
“Everyone’s a little bit scared to declare it because Alastair Clarkson has got the ability to change his mind and say: ‘I’m not coaching’,” he said on 3AW.
“But the further this goes on, I find that can’t happen.”
North have been the reported front runner for Clarkson’s signature for multiple weeks. A report in late July indicated he was seeking an eye-watering contract of $1.6ma year. Clarkson rubbed those reports.
Clarkson and Gerard Whateley co-hosted a function where the Hawks mentor put rumors of his big payday to join North Melbourne to bed.
“How explicit do you want me to be?” Whateley said on SEN when asked about Clarkson’s response from her.
“(He says it’s) bulls**t.
“That was Alastair Clarkson’s reaction to what’s in the public domain about $1.6 million to join North Melbourne.”
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