Nick Dal Santo is no certainty to stay with St Kilda and his playing future won’t become clearer until the AFL’s trade period in October, skipper Nick Riewoldt says.

Triple All-Australian midfielder Dal Santo has said he wants to stay with the Saints but Riewoldt says it’s up in the air at the moment.

The Saints are aggressively seeking a key defender and North Melbourne’s Luke Delaney could be the man, after playing only five senior games in 2013 for a career total of 26.

North have confirmed their interest in 29-year-old Dal Santo and club chairman James Brayshaw says the Kangaroos have no issue with 24-year-old Delaney seeking a trade.

“We’ve got an over-abundance (of key-position players),” Brayshaw told Triple M Radio on Wednesday.

“He just wants to get a game.

“We need outside mids. Wellsy (star midfielder Daniel Wells) needs a hand.”

Riewoldt backed coach Scott Watters’ recent statements that a big defender was a key issue for the Saints who finished third-last with a 5-17 win-loss record.

“Our club’s made no secret about their desire to target key defenders,” Riewoldt said on Wednesday.

“I’m pretty sure Dal’s got a contract next year and he’s expressed a desire to stay around the club.

“That’s the nature of the industry.

“These things come up. They get speculated about.

“We won’t exactly know what’s happening until trade week.”

The Kangaroos, who’ve committed their top pick (No.8 overall) to father-son prospect Luke McDonald, might consider trading Delaney and a second-round pick (about pick No.26) for Dal Santo according to a News Limited report.