Cambridge United head coach Mark Bonner expects Jack Iredale to leave the club this summer amid links with Bolton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic and Preston North End.
The left-back was an ever-present for the League One side in the first half of the campaign, but suffered an injury setback in February that kept him out of action for around two months. The defender is out-of-contract in the summer and first-team coach Barry Corr described him as the “best left-back in League One” earlier this season.
The U's are desperate to keep hold of the 25-year-old and have offered him fresh terms, but there is an acceptance that Iredale is increasingly likely to move on to pastures new soon.
“He has had an excellent season, and there have been contracts on the table for months for him,” Bonner said. “We haven’t heard back on them, so we’re obviously not quite expecting that to be honest. We imagine that he’ll move on in the summer, and he’s been linked with every club in the world since.
“He’s been unbelievable for us, he’s done great, but the fact that we haven’t heard an answer back for quite a few months now probably means that he’s going to move on to something that can pay him a significant amount more money than we can, which is fine, we know that’s how it works. He’s done incredibly well for us.
“The one thing we don’t want and won’t have this year is it dragging on for months and months, and I’m sure when the season ends we’ll get an answer from them once they’ve worked out where they’re going next.
“Jack will play a big part in the remaining games of the season. It’s still possible that he signs what’s on offer from us, but the likelihood is, the season and the strength of the year that he’s had, and the fact that he’s a free agent in the summer, will give him some incredible options in the summer.
“We know where we are in the food chain, that’s the way it works, so we’ve made the best we can to try and keep him, but sometimes it’s just not quite possible and we’ve seen in the past, and no doubt, we’ll see again in the future. Jack finishes the season off with us, and if he decides to sign that then great and if not, we’ll shake his hand and wish him well, because he’ll be going onto something that will give him a real good springboard in his career, and he’s done incredibly well for us in the time that he’s been here."
The defender has played 32 times in League One this year, scoring once and assisting twice.
