Chesterfield finalising squad plans ahead of EFL return

The Spireites have a small number of players out of contract including Jeff King, Bailey Clements, Ollie Banks and Harley Curtis.

Decisions on whether to offer those players new deals or release them will be announced in the near future.

Town have been proactive in offering new contracts to players throughout the season which means they will take the majority of the current squad into the Football League.

The likes of Ryan Boot, Ryheem Sheckleford, Tyrone Williams, Jamie Grimes, Branden Horton, Darren Oldaker, Mike Jones, Liam Mandeville, Ryan Colclough, Armando Dobra and Joe Quigley all penned extended deals which means they are tied down for at least one more year.

In the past, manager Paul Cook has spoken about the importance of continuity rather than having to sign dozens of new players each year. When he returned to Chesterfield two years ago, Cook was baffled at the scores of signings the club had made over a short period of time and he was keen to address that.

The Blues have identified players they would like to bring in for their return to the EFL, but the focus is once again on quality over quantity.

In other news, Chesterfield’s under-23s secured the National Football Youth League title following a huge 6-0 win against i2i International Gold U23s at the SMH Group Stadium on Tuesday night.

Alexander Duhameau and Ryley D’Sena both bagged doubles, whilst Connor Cook, son of manager Paul, and Thomas Marshall also got on the scoresheet.

The youngsters will now look towards their National Football Youth League Cup Final next Tuesday, against North Leigh FC under-23s, at Derby County’s Pride Park Stadium.