Dean Smith keen to keep Emmanuel Ledesma

Walsall boss Dean Smith wants to open talks with Emmanuel Ledesma's agent in the hope he can persuade the Argentine to stay at the club.

Two more goals from the talented Ledesma in the 3-2 victory over Chesterfield lifted Walsall further away from the League One drop zone and further endeared him to Saddlers fans.

But Ledesma has a nomadic CV which has taken him back and forth between England and Italy and Smith said: "Not everything he tries comes off but if you've got a player who can win you a game with a couple of goals like those on Saturday, you let them do what they want! I would like him to stay and I'll be having a chat with his agent."

"I'm doing all I can to keep him – I even had him round for dinner last week to sample the wife's cooking. If that doesn't persuade him, nothing will."

Ledesma is on a short term deal untl the end of the season having returned to Walsall from his boyhood club Defensa y Justicia near Buenos Aires.