Senior coach Luke Beveridge admits Josh Dunkley’s off-season trade request caught him by surprise but says there will be no issues welcoming him back to the fold.

The star midfielder and leader was retained by the Western Bulldogs after Essendon couldn’t facilitate an appropriate trade.

Beveridge has since caught up with Dunkley, who looms as a key player for the Bulldogs if they are to rise up the ladder in 2021.

“It was a surprise and when Dunks and I caught up last week, I talked to him about the two sides of it,” Beveridge told SEN Breakfast.

“Josh and I are very close, I’ve spent a lot of time with him talking about life as much as footy. I feel like I’ve spent more time than most of our players talking to him about key aspects of his game.

“There’s a personal connection between him and I. I had to contain my emotions and try to put it into some kind of perspective.

“We’ve invested a lot in Josh over the last five years, he’s blossomed as a player. He’s definitely applied himself, he’s a professional but our program has really helped him get to where he’s got to.” 

Beveridge said he was rapt to retain Dunkley – and that as far as he is concerned, the trade request is already a thing of the past.

“For all the different reasons and the weight of the reasons as to why he might consider the move to another club, my discussion with him was that doesn’t matter. All that matters to me and to our club is that he’s with us,” Beveridge said.

“If there is any tension there… then we need to discuss it. But he reassures me that things are fine. It was a huge surprise for all of us.

“We move on, fortunately he’s still with us. We look forward to him being a key contributor next year.”