A permanent shift to the midfield for Rieko Ioane is on the cards, after the announcement of the Blues' 2020 Super Rugby squad.
On Tuesday, Leon MacDonald named a talent-rich squad that also included highly-rated fringe England international centre Joe Marchant.
With the departures of Ma'a Nonu and Sonny Bill Williams, MacDonald had gaps to fill and Ioane appears to be one of the solutions.
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The All Blacks winger has been named as a midfielder in the 39-man squad, alongside Marchant, TJ Faiane and Tanielu Tele'a.
MacDonald had a disappointing first campaign as a head coach, after replacing Tana Umaga last season.
The Blues faded badly in the second half of the season, after looking playoff-bound through the first half-dozen rounds.
"It's important that last year's experiences count," MacDonald told Sky Sport. "We must build on that and we have made no bones about the fact that we are going to be a hard-working team.
"We also want to play a fast, open brand of rugby. To that end, we already have some outstanding players and we have added some exciting players to this.
"We want players who are capable of seeing space and playing what is in front of them. We also believe we have a number of players with the ability to play in different positions and this versatility will no doubt prove advantageous.
"Now the hard work begins. There won't be any predictions coming from this group, just a promise that it will be a case of no guts, no glory for the Blues in 2020."
Recruit Beauden Barrett has been named as a first-five, but it's still unclear when he will join his new teammates.
Blues squad: Beauden Barrett, Otere Black, Finlay Christie, Caleb Clarke, Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, Matt Duffie, Kurt Eklund, TJ Faiane, Blake Gibson, Josh Goodhue, Jack Heighton, Alex Hodgman, Jordan Hyland, Akira Ioane, Rieko Ioane, Tony Lamborn, Ezekiel Lindenmuth, Sione Mafileo, Joe Marchant, Emoni Narawa, Ray Niuia, Sam Nock, Jared Page, Dalton Papalii, James Parsons, Stephen Perofeta, Jacob Pierce, Harry Plummer, Marcel Renata, Waimana Riedlinger-Kapa, Tom Robinson, Jonathan Ruru, Hoskins Sotutu, Mark Telea, Tanielu Tele'a, James Tucker, Karl Tu'inukuafe, Patrick Tuipulotu, Ofa Tuungafasi, Baden Wardlaw.
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