Tranmere provided an update on the latest situation with the squad today, confirming a host of players who are out-of-contract will be spoken to about their futures when plans for next season become clearer.
While Peter Clarke exercised his option to extend his contract by a further year and youngster Danny Walker-Rice has been offered a one-year contract, Rovers suggested they have not yet offered other players contracts due to the current uncertainty of the football landscape.
Tranmere’s demotion from League One has instigated a round of redundancies at the club as it adjusts to deal with the blow of losing around £1million due to the change of leagues. With the EFL’s parachute payment of just £100,000 unlikely to solve much, Rovers are being cautious ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.
At present, the COVID-19 situation means that it is unclear when football will return to Prenton Park and whether or not fans will be allowed in when it does. There are also suggestions of the EFL introducing a salary cap on clubs in League One and Two, not to mention a cap on the number of players that can be registered to a squad.
So, that means that some big hitters from the current squad are effectively now free agents, including Connor Jennings, Ollie Banks and Mark Ellis. Add to that the likes of Jake Caprice, Neil Danns, David Perkins, Calum Woods, Luke McCullough, Darren Potter, Harvey Gilmour and Paul Mullin.
Rovers fans will no doubt be hoping the likes of Jennings, Banks, Ellis and McCullough can be tied down to new deals.
Loanees James Vaighan, Andy Cook, Morgan Feeney, Kane Wilson and Alex Woodyard have all returned to their parent clubs.
Wilson was released by WBA earlier this week.