Walsall are bidding to lure midfielder Danny Sonner back to The Banks’s Stadium four years after he was shown the door by Colin Lee.

The Saddlers are one of several clubs chasing the 35-year-old, who last night turned down an initial offer of a contract extension from Port Vale.

And Walsall, who have handed professional deals to eight youth team players, are among the front runners in the race for their former midfield man’s signature.

The former Birmingham and Northern Ireland man left in 2003 after making 24 starts in 11 months in a hit-and-miss first spell with Walsall.

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Walsall are bidding to lure midfielder Danny Sonner back to The Banks’s Stadium four years after he was shown the door by Colin Lee.

The Saddlers are one of several clubs chasing the 35-year-old, who last night turned down an initial offer of a contract extension from Port Vale.

And Walsall, who have handed professional deals to eight youth team players, are among the front runners in the race for their former midfield man’s signature.

The former Birmingham and Northern Ireland man left in 2003 after making 24 starts in 11 months in a hit-and-miss first spell with Walsall.

But the seven-cap international, who played for Nottingham Forest and Peterborough after leaving, has become a steady performer at League One level for Vale and came third in the club’s player-of-the-season ballot.

He has turned down Vale’s first offer of a new deal, although he has let it be known he is ready to continue negotiating so the club must now decide whether to make an improved offer.

But Sonner, who still lives near Birmingham, also has an offer on the table from Walsall and is considering it seriously.

Saddlers have given eight members of their double-winning youth team professional deals, and handed new one-year contracts to five of this season’s first-year professionals.

Republic of Ireland youth international goalkeeper James McKeown, defender-cum-midfielder Peter Doran, full-backs Richard Taundry and Netan Sansara, midfielders Charlton Davies and Leon Quarless and forwards Chris Hanna and Harry Harris given their first professional deals.

And defender Mannie Smith, Welsh Under-21 midfielder Mark Bradley and strikers Troy Denney, Alex Nicholls and David McDermott have all signed on for another year.