COLLINGWOOD is set to sign Oleg Markov, just 24 hours after he began training at Carlton.
The Pies will move luckless defender Charlie Dean to their inactive list in order to make way for Markov's arrival, with the former Williamstown VFL player enduring an injury-plagued campaign last year where he hurt the same foot on two separate occasions.
Dean re-fractured his right foot at training last week, and will consult a specialist on the best course of treatment.
Markov had initially spent the majority of his summer trialling for a vacant list position with the Pies, but finished up last Friday after Craig McRae's side opted to fill its final spot by recruiting 204cm ruckman Oscar Steene.
The former Richmond and Gold Coast speedster was then handed AFL approval to train with Carlton and began on Thursday, but the Blues were informed later in the evening that he would be accepting an offer to return to Collingwood.
Carlton had sounded out Markov as a potential pre-season Supplemental Selection Period (SSP) signing after running defender Zac Williams was ruled out for the entirety of the season due to a ruptured ACL.
The Blues have also been monitoring mature-aged half-back Alex Cincotta, who played for their VFL affiliate last year and has spent a period of the off-season training for Michael Voss' side as part of its reserves setup.
The 26-year-old Markov has handy AFL experience, having played 23 games across five seasons with Richmond before spending the last two years at Gold Coast where he featured a further 28 times.
Players signed during the SSP (Dec 5 to Feb 15)
Conor McKenna - Brisbane
Oskar Baker - Western Bulldogs
Liam Shiels - North Melbourne
Jed Anderson - Gold Coast
Tyler Brown - Adelaide
Liam Stocker - St Kilda
Mark Keane - Adelaide
Darragh Joyce - Brisbane
Brodie McLaughlin - Gold Coast
Oscar Steene - Collingwood
Oleg Markov - Collingwood
