Last salute

Reuben Hazell: saying goodbye to Latics

Skipper Hazell rejects new deal
REUBEN Hazell will not be an Athletic player next season.

The 32-year-old team captain has turned down the chance to stay on at Boundary Park on a new one-season deal and with his contract officially expiring at the end of this month, becomes a free agent.

“We made him a slightly improved offer on his current contract,” confirmed Athletic chief executive Alan Hardy. “It wasn’t accepted, so now it has been withdrawn.”

Hazell has spent the last four seasons with Athletic, racking up 166 appearances in all competitions and scoring seven goals.

Despite some costly lapses in concentration at times, his importance to the side was underlined by manager Paul Dickov last season, who spoke in glowing terms about his skipper’s centre-back partnership with on-loan Jean-Yves Mvoto.

The likely destination of the former Aston Villa, Tranmere and Torquay player is somewhere closer to his Midlands base. That could even open the door for his reuniting with former boss John Sheridan at Chesterfield, another of the experienced Hazell’s former employers.

As for Athletic, with only young James Tarkowski currently contracted to play in the heart of defence, Dickov will hope that Mvoto opts to say ‘oui’ rather than ‘non’ to his offer of a deal.

The former Sunderland player is available on a free transfer and Athletic expect his final response this week.

Left-back Paul Black, who also has a contract offer on the table, is currently away on holiday. And highly promising teenager Carl Winchester, who has been offered the chance to take up professional terms after only one year as a scholar, is on a break after his recent international duty which included a first full cap for Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, Ben Amos may be on his way back to Boundary Park.

Speculation is in the air that the 21-year-old Manchester United goalkeeper is being sought by Dickov on a season-long loan.

Amos, who showed his clear talents as a shot-stopper during his 16 appearances on loan in 2010-11, kept five clean sheets during his stint despite being part of the side which suffered such a dramatic dip in fortunes as a result of a chronic lack of goals.

He was recalled to Old Trafford in mid-March as a result of United ’keeper Anders Lindegaard undergoing surgery.

Dickov is currently without any senior goalkeeping options save for 38-year-old coach Paul Gerrard, after number one Dean Brill and Josh Ollerenshaw both left the club at the end of the season.