Lancaster City confirm club's retained list

After finishing 11th in the NPL Premier table, City boss Mark Fell’s attention is on constructing a squad which can take the next step in 2023/24.

With the Dolly Blues’ players due back for pre-season training in late June, contract options have been taken up on Charlie Bailey, Jake Connelly, Brad Carroll and Nico Evangelinos.

Of the players offered new deals to remain at Giant Axe, four have agreed with Dom Lawson, Rudy Misambo, Kyle Brownhill and Jamie Mellen the men in question.

Contracts have also been offered to Niall Cowperthwaite, Andrew Teague, Sam Bailey, Calen Gallagher-Allison and Christian Sloan.

City also remain in talks with five other players: Brad Carsley, Nathan Woodthorpe, Paul Jarvis, Pat Allington and David Norris, while Ed Elewa-Ikpakwu has been invited back for pre-season.

The only confirmed departures so far are the four loanees, who have returned to their parent clubs: Pawel Zuk (Barrow AFC), Sam Waller (Burnley), Matthew Tweedley (Bolton Wanderers) and Owen Robinson (Sunderland).

Zuk, however, was released by Barrow upon the completion of his contract but has been invited back for pre-season.

Elsewhere, Lancaster City Ladies have been crowned as champions of the Lancashire FA Women’s County League Division One North/West.​

They did so after being awarded victory and three points from their scheduled match against Kendal Town Women U18 Girls.

Kendal were unable to fulfil the fixture, meaning the Dolly Ladies were handed the victory.

That enabled them to leapfrog Whitehaven AFC and win the title by two points.