Dario says there will be no rush to get players on new contracts with the Alex boss choosing to wait till the summer before deciding anything.
Danny O’Donnell and Steve Schumacher are the two major expirations in the squad with their contracts up at the start of July. Both will be keen to know their futures, with Danny O’Donnell almost ever present in the side recently and Schumacher having trouble with various injuries.
The futures of the loanees will all have to be decided also. Dario has made it clear he is interested in securing both Steve Phillips and Chris Stokes, both of whom are unlikely to be offered deals at Bristol Rovers and Bolton respectively.
Harry Worley and Simon Walton’s futures aren’t as clear cut. Both still have a year remaining on their contracts at Leicester and Plymouth though both will be top of the list to be offloaded this summer.
Worley was initially wanted by Gudjon Thordarson on a permanent deal and it’s now down to whether Dario feels the defender has done enough.
Walton on the other side will require a large pay off from Plymouth before even coming into Dario’s thoughts. There is also issues around Walton’s location, he remains based down south with national newspapers picking up that his fiance (Big Brother star) Nicola Tappenden is unhappy with his current situation.
So it’s going to be a relatively interesting summer and Dario told CreweAlex.net nothing will be decided until then…
‘I haven’t discussed new contracts. That will wait until the end of the season because we will have to see how the rest of the season goes,’
‘I am in no great rush to do anything although there are one or two in the team who are out of contract in the summer.
‘The budget will obviously be a factor because we are now a League Two club and we can’t afford to have the budget we have had over the last few years.’
Dario added that any incoming players will have to be ready for the first team as the budget won’t allow him to carry any ‘maybe’ players.
But how do you see the summer going? Who’s going? Who’s staying?
For me, I think Steven Schumacher will be a surprise exit. We are not short in midfield and his injury record has really hampered him in the last couple of years. I don’t think he offers value for his wage packet.
Danny O’Donnell is likely to get an extension as Dario clearly has a lot of faith in him, somehow. With Ada’s future looking bleak and the future of Worley uncertain then Dario would see it as a risk to offload O’Donnell as well.
I expect us to at least offer a contract to Phillips, whether he signs or not is another matter. Stokes is also likely to get an offer if Bolton choose to release him. If Worley becomes available then I’d be surprised if Dario doesn’t at least offer him terms.
I think Walton remains beyond us. If not in terms of quality then definitely down to his personal terms. He is possibly someone who will be looking at League One minimum next season and does he want a permanent move up North?
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