Essendon have continued their signing spree after completing a move for St Kilda’s restricted free agent Jade Gresham.
The Saints opted against matching a bid for the 26-year-old and received a compensation pick at end of the first round (currently No.21).
The Saints had previously threatened to match any offer from the Bombers that didn’t net a first-round compensation pick.
Gresham has signed a three-year deal at the Bombers.
“Super excited to be joining a massive club like Essendon. I’m really excited to see what this group can achieve in the future,” Gresham said.
“I believe we can do something special and I’m happy to be apart of the journey ahead. Can’t wait to meet everyone at the club, get stuck into pre season and get to work for a massive 2024.”
Gresham’s signature will be the Bombers’ third signing of the trade period after also securing North Melbourne free agents Ben McKay and Todd Goldstein.
The Bombers are also trying to broker a trade for contracted Port Adelaide midfielder Xavier Duursma.
In what is shaping as a busy period for the Bombers, they are also set to lose Brandon Zerk-Thatcher to the Power and Massimo D’Ambrosio to Hawthorn.
“This period presented us with a great opportunity to strengthen our list and we feel we’ve done that,” list manager Adrian Dodoro said.
“We have a young and developing list and we need to keep improving. Our focus continues to be on improving our football club so we can deliver success to our members and supporters.”
Prior to the compensation pick being revealed, acting St Kilda football manager David Misson called Gresham “a very high-level player”.
“He kicked 21 goals for us this year, he’s been a really established player at St Kilda and we’re hoping to get an end-of-first-round pick. That’s what we’d be after there,” Misson said on SEN.
“If the compensation that we get offered isn’t what we’d like, then we’d decide whether we wanted to match it.
“Jade has a great relationship with Ross. So, if we have to, we’d be very happy to keep Jade at St Kilda if that’s the way it starts to look.”
Gresham has played 136 games for the Saints and, at his best, can dominate in the midfield or closer to goal.
He kicked a bag of six back in 2018 and on four occasions has racked up 30 or more disposals during a game.