ESSENDON is interested in Dustin Martin, and has spoken about pursuing the Richmond star via free agency.

Speaking to SEN, Bombers CEO Xavier Campbell didn't deny a report on Fox Footy that the club could join the race to lure Martin, who is set to become a restricted free agent at season's end.

North Melbourne is reportedly poised to offer Martin a huge contract worth more than $1 million per season, while St Kilda has also been linked to the out-of-contract Tigers midfielder.

"I think there's a lot of football clubs that have probably spoken about Dustin Martin and what they feel he could add to their football program," Campbell said.

"We're like most others where at list management we spend a lot of time talking about a whole range of players and what they could bring to our footy club.

"It's very preliminary stages with Dustin, and there's other players – no doubt like Dustin – they can add enormous value.

"We’re open to exploring all those ways that we can add value to our list, and we'll continue those discussions.

"We certainly haven't been to the point where it's been raised anywhere outside list management or certainly at a board level – when it gets to the free agency market, that's a pretty pivotal part of the process.

"Dustin's a super talent and he's a genuine match-winner, and we'll see what happens."

Martin's management has told Richmond the 25-year-old reigning club champion won't make a decision on his future until after the season.

Meanwhile, Campbell was confident the Bombers were closing in on securing spearhead Joe Daniher's signature.
The emerging star is out of contract at the end of 2017, and his value has never been greater after back-to-back five-goal hauls in wins over Geelong and West Coast.

"Adrian Dodoro (list manager) has had some good dialogue with Joe's management. That's been going on for a while, and I feel like we're in a good position," Campbell said.

"The last update I got was that things were moving well and that it was in line with our expectations.

"I feel like we're getting pretty close."

The Dons on Wednesday announced a four-year extension with co-major partner Fujitsu General Australia until 2021, less than a week after passing 65,000 members for the first time.