NATIONAL recruiting manager Jason Taylor says the Demons are aiming for the most “fair and reasonable deal” to secure Collingwood premiership player Heritier Lumumba.

With key forward Mitch Clark having nominated Geelong as his preferred club, Taylor said Melbourne was determined to get the best possible deals for both trades.

“Clark’s identified Geelong as a club he’d like to get to, so we’ll just work through scenarios with them,” he told Dee TV.

“With Lumumba, he’s nominated he’d like to get to us … and we’ll just work with Collingwood and see if we can come to a fair and reasonable deal for both parties.”

Meanwhile, Taylor said this week’s NAB AFL Draft Combine was critical to the drafting process, given it gave clubs the chance to interview a host of emerging talent.

He said the club interviews prospective players “two or three times” throughout the year or “sometimes once if satisfied”.

Taylor added that interviews last roughly from 30 to 60 minutes in a home or club environment. But otherwise they are 15 to 30 minutes each at the Combine.

“We had a pretty lengthy day yesterday, where we finished up about 9 to 9:30pm doing some interviews. That’s a process we take right through the week,” he said.

“We’ve interviewed quite a number of players already throughout the year and it’s a really good opportunity to get those players in front of the coaching staff, so they can get a look at them and find out a bit more about the players themselves.

“It’s a really critical part of the process to watch the boys play. Their character … comes out in the way they go about their footy.

“To interview them and sit down and get to know the person and a little bit about their family history and their sporting and scholastic endeavours – it gives you a bit more of an insight and a bit more of a rounded look at the person themselves.”