Chesterfield are having talks about what to do with their loan players.

Rules state that teams are only allowed to name five loan players in a matchday squad but the Spireites now have eight on the books, although one is due to end today. There are no limits on the number of loan players a club can have in total but there are restrictions on a matchday.

The Blues already had Devan Tanton, Matt Dibley-Dias, Ronan Darcy, James Berry and Will Dickson on loan before they added Sam Curtis, Sil Swinkels and Sammy Braybrooke.

Dickson’s deal from Manchester City is due to expire today (Monday) and he was not involved in the squad for the 2-2 draw at MK Dons on Sunday. The striker, 21, has made 18 appearances, scoring one and assisting one. He has only started five times, three of which came in the EFL Trophy, and his last in the league was the 6-2 hammering at Colchester United in October.

Like Dickson, Tanton, 22, was left out against MK and he was an unused substitute on New Year’s Day at Oldham Athletic. That came after he had started the previous eight league games. The right-back is on a season-long loan from Fulham but nowadays there are normally ‘break clauses’ at the midway point which allow for a deal to be reviewed. He has featured 18 times in total. New arrival Curtis started at right-back at MK and then Vontae Daley-Campbell came off the bench to play there.

Dibley-Dias, 22, also on loan from Fulham until the end of the campaign, has not played since August because of a knee injury which required surgery. The midfielder has been undergoing his recovery work at his parent club but is still not thought to be ready. Braybrooke partnered Ryan Stirk in central midfield on Sunday and they also have Tom Naylor and John Fleck in that position.

Darcy, 25, from Wigan Athletic, and Berry, 25, from Wycombe Wanderers, are their other two loan players but they are playing more regularly. And with injured pair Dilan Markanday and Armando Dobra still a couple of weeks away from returning, plus they will need more time to get up to speed, Chesterfield are not flush with attacking midfield options at the moment so it seems unlikely that they would end those deals early. However, it remains to be seen whether Wycombe boss Michael Duff wants Berry back at the League One club to cast his eye over the winger after he was appointed manager when Berry had already departed.

The transfer window is open until 7pm on February 2.