Blackpool boss admits there's a 'conversation to have' with ex-Everton defender as talks step up

While deals are only set to expire at the end of June, club’s will start to release their retained lists across the next few weeks.

A player at Bloomfield Road who is approaching the end of his current contract is Matthew Pennington - who has spent the last two seasons on the Fylde Coast after joining the Seasiders from Shrewsbury in the summer of 2023.

The ex-Everton youngster has previously earned praise from Blackpool head coach Steve Bruce, despite not being a regular in his starting XI in recent times.

Pennington’s longest run in the team came during the winter, before an injury spell saw him drop out.

In total, the 30-year-old, who has a one-year option available, has made 20 appearances in League One this season, and has the full respect of his manager.

“He’s an absolute delight as a pro, you don’t get them like Penno,” Bruce said.

“He’s had his moments where he was in the team and playing very well, but got injured. There’s a conversation to have, and I’d rather have it with him.

“You can’t get people like Penno very often so we’ll see what we can do.”

Decisions to be made soon on Blackpool’s out of contract players

Sonny Carey is the standout name on the Seasiders’ list of out of contract players, with talks ongoing with the midfielder over the last few months.

Meanwhile, for the others, decisions on their futures will be decided around Blackpool’s meeting with Bristol Rovers this Saturday.

“I’ll have conversations with them over the next 24 hours,” Bruce added.

“There’s conversations to be had, and sometimes they will be difficult, but that’s football.

“The club have made Sonny a terrific offer. He’s played arguably the best football of his career over the last three months, but I’m a big boy too, if someone comes in and doubles his salary to play in the Championship, then we understand what the situation is.

“We’ve done everything we possibly can. We’ve made him a terrific offer, and the rest is up to him.”

Bruce outlines summer transfer plan

Bruce admits he has a clear vision of what he’s looking for this summer as he looks to shape the Blackpool squad further into what he wants.

“We are identifying what we require, and there’s going to be big change,” he stated.

“We let eight go in January, there’s five on loan, and of course there’s five or six who are out of contract. There’s a lot of work to be done, and there’s a lot of conversations to be had in the next 48 hours in particular.

“There’s going to be change again. It’s difficult for me to get my head around because that seems to be the norm in the lower divisions where you don’t give our big, huge contracts.

“We know what we’re about and how we want to play, so let’s get a team together who can make a challenge to get into the play-offs.”

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