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Josh Vela is “committed” to staying with Wanderers, claims Phil Parkinson.
The Whites boss is confident he can fend off advances from Championship outfit Wigan Athletic and keep hold of the 22-year-old midfielder in the transfer window.
Two bids have already been turned down but Parkinson says he has had no indication from the midfielder that he wants to leave the Macron Stadium.
“I have had two good chats with Josh and he’s very committed to this club,” he said. “Things could change if you get a life-changing offer from a club, a bit like Rob Holding, then it’s different. But we don’t want to lose our best players.”
Vela is out of contract next summer but Wanderers would be entitled to a decent tribunal fee should he choose to leave, having trained him since the age of nine.
Parkinson has swapped notes with chairman Ken Anderson about offering new deals but wants to get through the rest of the month before sitting players down and speaking about contractual matters.
“We are in discussions with the chairman about that now and we are very focussed about doing what’s best for this squad,” he said. “By the time the window closes we want to have a stronger squad, not a weaker one.
“At the moment we’re just focussing on getting the next couple of weeks out of the way. I think most clubs will be in that situation.
“I just want to make sure when I write the squad up on the board in my office I know it’s strong enough to compete.
“There are other teams who keep adding players – we have to be the same.”
Source
The Whites boss is confident he can fend off advances from Championship outfit Wigan Athletic and keep hold of the 22-year-old midfielder in the transfer window.
Two bids have already been turned down but Parkinson says he has had no indication from the midfielder that he wants to leave the Macron Stadium.
“I have had two good chats with Josh and he’s very committed to this club,” he said. “Things could change if you get a life-changing offer from a club, a bit like Rob Holding, then it’s different. But we don’t want to lose our best players.”
Vela is out of contract next summer but Wanderers would be entitled to a decent tribunal fee should he choose to leave, having trained him since the age of nine.
Parkinson has swapped notes with chairman Ken Anderson about offering new deals but wants to get through the rest of the month before sitting players down and speaking about contractual matters.
“We are in discussions with the chairman about that now and we are very focussed about doing what’s best for this squad,” he said. “By the time the window closes we want to have a stronger squad, not a weaker one.
“At the moment we’re just focussing on getting the next couple of weeks out of the way. I think most clubs will be in that situation.
“I just want to make sure when I write the squad up on the board in my office I know it’s strong enough to compete.
“There are other teams who keep adding players – we have to be the same.”
Source