Walsall defender Shay Facey among five players set to leave Walsall
Defender Shay Facey is among five players set to leave Walsall after being told they will not be offered new deals.
Midfielders Gary Liddle and James Hardy are also departing after just a season at the Banks’s, while academy products Mitch Candlin and Kory Roberts have also been informed they can go.
The Saddlers published their released and retained list within hours of the League Two season being formally curtailed on Tuesday.
While former Manchester City academy star Facey headed the list of departures, ex-Newcastle midfielder Danny Guthrie was among three players offered new deals.
Boss Darrell Clarke is also keen to keep hold of defensive duo Callum Cockerill-Mollett and Tom Leak, while second-year apprentices Sam Perry and Joe Willis who have been offered their first professional contracts.
In addition, midfielder Alfie Bates, striker Elijah Adebayo and veteran defender Mat Sadler will be staying after the Saddlers exercised options to extend their deals.
Former Birmingham and Shrewsbury centre-back Sadler, who returned to the Banks’s for a second spell with the club last summer, will be moving into a player/coach role.
Clarke carried out the largest squad revamp in the EFL when he was appointed Walsall boss following the club’s relegation in May, 2019.
But while the current close season is set to be among the most unpredictable in the history of the history of the sport, Clarke enters it with 14 players already contracted for the 2020/21 campaign, whenever it might start.
Those set for another crack at League Two with the Saddlers include goalkeeper Liam Roberts, central defensive duo James Clarke and Dan Scarr, midfielder Stuart Sinclair and striker Josh Gordon.
The club also confirmed the loan quartet of Jack Rose, Cameron Pring, Rory Holden and Nathan Sheron had returned to their respective parent clubs.
Facey, meanwhile, posted a message of thanks to supporters after news of his own departure emerged.
In a post on Twitter the 25-year-old wrote: “I’d just like to say thankyou to everybody at Walsall, my teammates, staff & supporters for your support during my short time at the club.
“I look forward to crossing paths again and I wish you all the best in the future. See you around.”
A Walsall statement read: “We would like to wish all departing players all the best for the future and thank them for their efforts during their time with the club.”
