OPINION: Blackpool dealt a blow on and off the pitch with striker's departure

Out of contract and keen to try his hand at a higher level, you can’t blame the 28-year-old for keeping his options open. It had been on the cards for a while.

The Frenchman was close to signing for Championship side Charlton Athletic last summer and was again linked with the Addicks during the January window, but nothing materialised.

Derby County have also been mentioned while Cardiff City have become the latest Championship side to be linked with the striker’s services.

I’m sure there will be others that join the party now he’s available on a free. For a side in the second tier, he’s a pretty low-risk signing given his wage demands aren’t likely to be extortionate.

As I say, when clubs of that nature come calling, you can’t ignore it.

From a Blackpool point of view, it’s a crying shame to lose your top goalscorer for nothing.

In fact, at a time when money is tight enough as it is, it must come as a huge blow.

Gnanduillet has finished the season second in the scoring charts behind Peterborough United’s Ivan Toney, for whom Posh wanted £10m during the January window.

Now, not for a minute am I saying Blackpool could have demanded anywhere near that figure for big Armand, but it’s an interesting comparison nonetheless.

It’s my understanding that a fee of around £325,000 was agreed with Charlton last summer, yet the deal broke down at the last minute.

I believe the club wanted at least double that figure during January at a time when the Seasiders were still in the hunt for the play-offs and consequently had no interest whatsoever in selling their talisman.

Five months later, Blackpool have finished the season in 13th place and they won’t receive a single penny for their 18-goal forward. You win some and lose some, I suppose.

The main issue for me here is the fact Gnanduillet was allowed to run down his contract in the first place.

When you’re a club in the third tier, it’s inevitable you’re going to have your best players poached every now and then – regardless of what wages you can offer.

However, you must protect yourselves as much as possible, something that Blackpool have simply failed to do too often in the past.

This isn’t a criticism of Simon Sadler and the current hierarchy seeing as Gnanduillet’s situation crosses over from the Oyston ownership to the interim board.

In fact, the club confirmed in its retained list that they offered him a “significant” contract earlier in the season. By that point it was too late.

I’m sure Sadler will be as frustrated as the rest of us to lose such an in-demand player for diddly squat.

You don’t have to look too far back to see other examples of players leaving the club and Blackpool receiving no compensation.

Goalscorers have been hard to come by at Bloomfield Road in recent times and, pre-Gnanduillet, Kyle Vassell was the go-to man.

Yet he was also allowed to run down his contract and ended up joining Rotherham United on a free.

The same happened with defender Clark Robertson, who had previously built up a strong partnership at the back with Curtis Tilt – who ironically joined the Millers in January. The three of them will be playing Championship football next season.

It was Blackpool and Gary Bowyer in particular who got the best out of these players and allowed them to take the next steps in their career. Yet, Tilt aside, the Seasiders received no reimbursement for all of Bowyer’s hard work.

That can’t be allowed to continue, especially now the Seasiders have a coach at the helm who is renowned for developing young players and making them better.

Neil Critchley will be responsible for bringing through the next batch of Blackpool players over the coming years and, given his impressive background, you’d hope there will be plenty of them.

Hopefully the club can learn the lessons of previous owners’ mistakes and protect the club’s biggest and best assets.

Should one of these future stars attract the interest of a bigger club or a side in a higher division, Blackpool must ensure they’re financially rewarded.

When clubs in the lower leagues are scratching around for every penny, it’s now more important than ever to make smart decisions to ensure the financial security and stability of the club going forward.