Striker departs Chesterfield after three years at club

The striker has left the Spireites by mutual consent after three years at the club. The 31-year-old made 65 appearances, scoring 21 times.

The Dutch-born forward, whose contract was due to expire next summer, has not featured at all this season. His last outing came on April 10 as a late substitute in a 1-0 away win at Dagenham and Redbridge. He is now a free agent and allowed to sign for another club.

The Spireites said in a statement: “Akwasi Asante has today left the club after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent. We thank Akwasi for his services and wish him all the best for the future.”

Asante was signed by former manager James Rowe from Gloucester City in November 2020. He hit the ground running straight away, scoring 10 goals in his first 14 appearances as the Blues surged from the relegation zone to the play-off positions. But he later suffered a ruptured ACL and was out for seven months. He returned to score against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup third round but the rest of his time at Town was stop-start with niggling injuries.

The striker picked up some form again when Paul Cook first came in, scoring four goals in eight matches, but he was made available for transfer in the summer of 2022. However, he worked his back into the side and was taken off the transfer list after a good start to last season. But injuries struck again and he struggled to get game-time after that.

His departure will come as no surprise to Chesterfield fans, the writing has been on the wall for a while, and many will probably be left with a sense of ‘what if’ had he not suffered that serious ACL injury.