Mark Hughes set to sign Saddlers deal

Walsall skipper Mark Hughes is set to pledge his future to the Saddlers and sign a new deal.

The 23-year-old is close to an agreement at the Banks's Stadium and the Express & Star understands a deal is imminent.

Hughes was one of eight players offered new terms at the end of last season and is expected to commit ahead of the start of pre-season training next Thursday.

The centre-back arrived on a free from Northampton last summer and was quickly installed as captain by boss Chris Hutchings.

He made 28 appearances, scoring once, but saw his campaign disrupted thanks to two red cards against Colchester and Huddersfield in March and April respectively.

He struggled to break up the partnership of Manny Smith and Clayton McDonald but returned for the final two games of the season as the Saddlers finished 10th in League One.

Hughes, a former Everton trainee, joins Richard Taundry, Alex Nicholls, Will Grigg, Jamie Vincent and Darryl Westlake in penning new deals. Boss Hutchings has already added former Manchester City midfielder Paul Marshall to his ranks and is ready to move in the transfer market.

Now the make-up of his squad is almost complete.

Just Julian Gray and Rene Gilmartin are yet to sign the deals on the table.

The duo are still assessing their options but with pre-season starting next Thursday they are expected to reveal their hands sooner rather than later.