Carlton have denied they and Brendan Fevola are too far away from an agreement to continue the spearhead's drawn-out AFL contract talks.

Carlton on Monday confirmed they would put discussions about Fevola's contract on hold until season's end.

The two parties have been unable to strike a deal despite the club making an offer and the player declaring publicly he wants to stay.

But both the Blues and Fevola's management were at pains to stress the reasons for talks being put on ice was to ensure the player and club could concentrate on football.

"We all believe it is in the best interests of Brendan and also the Carlton team to put further talks on hold until after the season," Carlton chief executive Greg Swann said.

"It is not a matter of being too far away from an agreement.

"It is more about the media attention being given to the discussions.

"We are keen to ensure our focus is on the remaining games of the season to provide the best opportunity for the continued development of our young playing list."

Despite the scrutiny, Fevola's form has been good.

A five-goal haul in the Blues' two-point loss to Sydney at the weekend gave him 69 goals for the season and a serious shot at the Coleman Medal for the competition's leading goalkicker.

Fevola is just four goals behind Hawthorn's Lance Franklin.

But in a statement, Fevola's management agreed stopping discussions until season's end was the right move.

"This is not about discussions not progressing - it is to enable Brendan to continue to perform at his best without the ongoing speculation about his playing future," his manager Mark Kleiman said.

"I am also sure it will be in the best interests of the Carlton team for the remainder of the season."

Carlton remain well in contention to make the AFL finals, sitting 11th but less than two wins outside the top eight.

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