Silkmen set to lose Whitehead
MACCLESFIELD Town are braced for the departure of Danny Whitehead as John Askey looks to get his squad in shape as quickly as possible ahead of next season’s League Two campaign.
The Silkmen chief has been keen to establish his budget for the 2018/19 season, with Whitehead’s imminent departure driving home the need for urgency from the club’s top brass.
The midfielder was among a number of outof-contract players offered new deals at the Moss Rose but was expected to sign for new Salford City boss Graham Alexander as the Express went to press.
Whitehead’s expected departure comes just days after Macc announced their retained list.
Jared Hodgkiss, Elliott Durrell and Ryan Lloyd all remain under contract with the club and are set to remain at the Moss Rose next season.
The Silkmen have also offered contracts to a number of players, including David Fitzpatrick, Keith Lowe, George Pilkington, Tyrone Marsh, Scott Wilson, Kieran Kennedy, Mitch Hancox, Whitehead and Danny Whitaker.
Those players were all instrumental in helping Macclesfield win the National League and earn promotion back to League Two – and given their success there is sure to be interest in them from rival clubs.
Fitzpatrick, for instance, is also said to be on Salford’s radar.
Macc have also offered deals to two players who were recently on loan at the Moss Rose, as Nathan Blissett and Callum Evans have been released by their parent clubs.
The players are set to weigh up the offers in the coming weeks before deciding whether to put pen to paper on the new contracts.
Several players have departed already with goalkeeper Shwan Jalal the surprise departee. Voted the best goalkeeper in the National League last week, the club decided not to offer a new deal despite him being named in the National League Team of the Season.
Jalal played in 41 of Macclesfield’s game during the latest campaign, keeping 15 clean sheets during that time, but it wasn’t enough to earn him a new deal.
Courtney Richards, Sam Ramsbottom, Noe Baba, Diego De Girolamo and Koby Arthur have also been released, while Scott Burgess has returned to his parent club after the completion of his loan spell.