St Kilda captain Jack Steele and vice-captain Callum Wilkie have revealed Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera told them on Saturday that he was staying.

Speculation surrounding the boom Saints superstar had been running rife right up until Monday morning when it was confirmed he had re-signed for the next two years.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: St Kilda teammates reveal two-day secret.

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Some reports as recently as Sunday afternoon suggested the 22-year-old was leaning towards a move to Adelaide.

But speaking to 7NEWS on Monday in the aftermath of the landmark announcement, Wilkie and Steele said the decision to stay had already been made before then.

“I don’t know if I can tell the truth here or not... Nah, he sort of told us both individually two days ago, on Saturday, so we have known for a few days I guess,” Steele said.

“I’ve been struggling to try keep the secret, but I’m glad it got announced now rather than after the season has finished.

“We’re all happy, everyone’s got a great buzz about them, it’s been a great day at the club.”

Wilkie added: “I was with him on Saturday so he told me in person.

“I was ecstatic, it’s huge, I gave him a big hug, it’s great to have him at this footy club.

“The reception today, everyone’s buzzing because he’s such a loveable person. And obviously he’s a good player, but everyone loves who he is as a person, he’s great for the group.”

Wanganeen-Milera’s two-year deal is believed to be worth $4 million, making him the first $2 million-dollar per year player in AFL history.

“He’s shouting end-of-year celebrations or end-of-year drinks,” Wilkie joked.

“Nah, I think everyone’s just excited to see him stay at the club.

“It’s been an interesting year with keeping his cards close to his chest, but we’re just excited to keep playing footy with him.”

History says that rarely does an in-demand player re-sign with their club if a contract has not been signed this late in the year.

The most recent big-name player to have a similar drawn-out process before staying put was Dustin Martin in 2017.

Despite the constant speculation, Wanganeen-Milera not only maintained his sublime form and reputation — he enhanced it, becoming clearly one of the best few players in the competition.

“He’d be a bloody good poker player,” Steele said.

“But like Wilks said, he’s been playing great footy this year and he deserves every bit of it.”

Next on St Kilda’s to-do list is secure the signature of midfield bull and valuable tagger, Marcus Windhager, who remains unsigned.

The midfielder told 7NEWS he’s just happy for Wanganeen-Milera and expects his deal to be done in good time.

“It’s great to have him stay, I’m moreso just happy for him, and hopefully all my stuff gets sorted out soon,” he said.

St Kilda remains poised to lure Carlton ruck Tom De Koning on a lucrative contract believed to be worth $1.8 million, and emerging GWS Giants defender Leek Aleer on a deal worth as much as $850,000.

Speaking before the Saints’ game last Friday night, Wilkie said the club has the players’ full support to chase opposition players.

“We have to go after them,” he said.

“If you look at where we are sitting on the ladder and the footy that we’ve been playing, we need to get better.

“And obviously there’s the draft, which we’ve gone to heavily over the last three years, but to get free agents and trade in good players, that’s their (the list management team) job and we’re all for it because we just want to get better as a group and we know we probably need to attract some more talent.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully landing some big fish, who knows, we’ll see what happens.

“But that’s the only way we can get better, as well as driving the culture of this group and getting those young players to fast-track their development so we’re playing some better footy and hopefully playing finals soon.”