Sydney Swans Head of List Strategy Chris Keane spoke to AFL.com.au's Cal Twomey on Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio to share his thoughts on the Swans plans heading into Trade Period, Joel Amartey, Nick Blakey and more.

Watch the interview and read what Keane said below.

First up, the five suspended players at the end of the season. Do you expect them all to be at Sydney next year?

Yeah, I do. I mean, they're contracted players and required players. So we expect them to be back at the club.

Have there been any conversations otherwise with any of those guys?

No, we've had no indication that any of them are seeking any other opportunities. So, as I said, we expect them to be there.

Nick Blakey specifically has told people around him that he's looking at interested clubs and seeing how that plays out. Have you had any conversation with Nick about his commitment, about coming back from one way or the other?

We've had no indication from Nick or his management about that. Nick's got five years to run in his contract.

So again, like the other four boys, we expect him to be back at the club next year.

Would you be open to any conversations on Nick?

I think at this time of year, I understand the speculation. And those conversations are heightened at this time of year. And obviously the calibre of player he is and the situation, I can understand the question. But again, we've had no indication that that's even something he's offering or after. So we expect him to be back at the football club.

Joel Amartey departed the football club last week as an unrestricted free agent to Carlton. How did those negotiations play out?

Yeah, look, we had constant communication with his manager throughout the period. We had five years on the table and obviously Carlton did as well. Joel's elected to go to Carlton and we wish him the best in his next adventure.

So you've got a band three pick for him, which is a second round selection. Were you expecting more? Did you think you'd get an end of first round pick for that one?

Yeah, we were hopeful that we would. I think it's always challenging when there's a dilution of what a band three represents in a second round pick. Such that the four or five second round picks that are going to come into the start of the second round as we enter night two, that really does dilute what the second round pick looks like. So for us, we acknowledge it's going to be in the 40s and that makes it challenging, but we're also excited about what we might be able to do there.

Do you think there's a fix in the system required where when you're going through negotiations, you actually get a glimpse of what the compensation might be if you lose a play?

Yeah, I mean it would be helpful. I think in any decision making that you're doing at a footy club, you want as much information as you can get and that would be certainly beneficial. I think all seven clubs would say that.

How active do you think you'll be throughout this period?

Yeah, I think we'll be pretty quiet after bringing in the three boys that we brought in last year. This year's goal is around retention, so we'll look to do that.

Big get last year in terms of Charlie Curnow, obviously using your future picks to do that. There's a limit on how many picks you can use in the future as well. How much of a success was that last year looking back 12 months?

Yeah, I think it was one of the better win-wins for both footy clubs when you look at it 12 months later. We were really wrapped up with what Charlie was able to achieve, but also Jai Sarong and Malcolm Roses Jnr as well, they all contributed really strongly to our footy club.