Big-spending St Kilda have withdrawn their interest in Greater Western Sydney defender Leek Aleer in a stunning backflip after initial negotiations with the Giants.

This masthead revealed the Saints’ change of heart on Thursday afternoon , after Aleer requested a trade to the Moorabbin-based club in the days following Greater Western Sydney’s 19-point elimination final loss to Hawthorn.

St Kilda have withdrawn from a Leek Aleer trade. Credit: Getty Images

St Kilda had offered Aleer a four-year deal worth north of $700,000 annually, so the 24-year-old stands to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Aleer is in Barcelona on an off-season holiday and unaware of the trade development, a source familiar with negotiations told this masthead on the condition of anonymity.

The breakdown

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