Chesterfield set to announce retain list ahead of busy summer
Chesterfield are set to announce their retain list this week.
The Spireites’ season came to an end on Friday night after being knocked out of the play-offs by Walsall, who will now play AFC Wimbledon in the final at Wembley on May 26.
The squad had the weekend off and now there will be meetings with players across Monday and Tuesday before they head off for the summer break. The retained list will then be made public in the coming days. With the Blues having being involved in the play-offs they are playing catch-up compared to some other clubs whose seasons finished two weeks ago and have already announced their lists.
It promises to be a busy summer with Town only having nine players definitely under contract for next season. They are: Ryheem Sheckleford, Chey Dunkley, Tom Naylor, Liam Mandeville, Bailey Hobson, Dylan Duffy, Armando Dobra, Will Grigg and Paddy Madden. Lewis Gordon and Vontae Daley-Campbell are out of contract but the club has options to extend their deals if they wish.
Those departing will likely include some who helped return the club to League Two a year ago: Those whose contracts expire this summer are: Ryan Boot, Jamie Grimes, Tyrone Wlliams, Ash Palmer, Kyle McFadzean, Janoi Donacien, Darren Oldaker, John Fleck, Mike Jones, Ollie Banks, Michael Jacobs, Ryan Colclough and Kane Drummond.
And the loans of Max Thompson, Harvey Araujo, Jack Sparkes, Jenson Metclfe, Michael Olakigbe and Bim Pepple will also end and they will return to their parent clubs.
Some of the more intriguing outcomes will be whether the likes of McFadzean and Fleck have done enough to earn new contracts after proving their fitness in the latter part of the season, if Chesterfield will have been able to persuade Oldaker to sign on the dotted line with the midfielder attracting interest from elsewhere, and whether the end of season form of Boot and Palmer could land them deals. And there will be some emotional goodbyes with players who helped Chesterfield win the National League title in memorable style probably moved on.
The transfer window opens on June 1 for 10 days to accommodate FIFA's Club World Cup registration period, which EFL clubs can also make use of. It will then shut again for a week before reopening on June 16 and closing at 7pm on September 1.