FORMER Geelong president Frank Costa has anointed Joel Selwood as the club's next captain.

Costa, who oversaw the 2007 and 2009 flags, believes the 23-year-old midfielder is the man to replace premiership skipper Cameron Ling.

"He's a natural leader and has maturity way beyond his years," Costa told the Herald Sun.

"He's the sort of guy that keeps his cool under pressure and is very humble.

"The last five years have been the most successful period of any club in history ... and if you think about it, they're the five years of his career. He's got the respect of all of the players."

Costa admits though that the Cats have a number of excellent options for the captaincy outside of Selwood.

"You've got guys like Jimmy Bartel, Corey Enright and Joel Corey - and then there's Harry Taylor coming up." Costa said. 

"It's a really tough one.

"We're very, very blessed at Geelong to have such a strong leadership group. They all put the team before themselves."

The Cats will announce their new skipper in February.