Paul Cook should prioritise 26-year-old as planning for Chesterfield future takes shape | OneFootball

Paul Cook has a lot of big contract calls to make at Chesterfield over the summer, but securing a new deal for Darren Oldaker should be a priority.

With 16 permanent Chesterfield contracts set to expire in the summer, including six central midfield options, a new deal for 26-year-old Darren Oldaker should be prioritised with a busy summer expected in Derbyshire.

The former Dorking Wanderers midfielder and free-kick specialist has made over 100 appearances for the Spireites since he signed in the summer of 2022, and with injuries and player sales causing chaos in the Chesterfield ranks, Oldaker has been one of Cook’s mainstays in what has been a turbulent season.

A steady League Two performer about to enter his prime years, not offering a contract to the former Gillingham man could come back to bite the Spireites.

A new deal for Oldaker would help keep the age balance in Cook’s midfield

Chesterfield have struggled to find a settled midfield partnership this season, with last season’s Player of the Year Tom Naylor pushed back into defence to combat injuries to the likes of Chey Dunkley, Harvey Araujo and Ash Palmer, while John Fleck and Jenson Metcalfe have also struggled for fitness.

Oldaker has been ‘Mr Reliable’ for Cook in the middle of the park this campaign, and with Town’s other midfield options a mixture of loan deals, youngsters, or players entering their mid-thirties, a new deal for the former Dorking man would help Cook future-proof his aging engine room.

33-year-old Fleck, who had only played 22 minutes of League Two football this season, was rushed to hospital after collapsing in the warm-up against Doncaster Rovers, and with his contract up at the end of the season, it is hard to see Town offering him a new deal at this stage.

The same can be said for 37-year-old Mike Jones, who has been a useful squad player for Chesterfield since signing in 2022, making over 50 appearances, but he has undergone surgery and withdrew himself from Town’s squad list in December, so it is unlikely he will put on a Town shirt again.

Tim Akinola and Bailey Hobson are two young midfielders whose contracts are up in the summer, both of whom were recalled from National League loan moves over the busy Christmas period, while Town's injury list was over double figures.

While the duo, especially Hobson, have looked good in glimpses, it’s hard to see them playing regularly in a team ready to compete for promotion to League One, and the pair have failed to feature in Chesterfield’s last four League Two squads, with players slowly starting to return from injury.

Oldaker’s midfield partner for much of the season, Ollie Banks, is also out-of-contract at the end of the season, and the Chesterfield chiefs should be looking at offering the 32-year-old a deal for next season.

The former Barrow man is an experienced EFL midfielder, with 175 fourth tier appearances to his name, and he shows no signs of slowing down at 32, playing 25 league games this season, scoring his first goal of the season in Town's 5-2 win over Doncaster.

The two-time title winner with the Blues is well-equipped to play in Cook’s high possession system, ranking second in League Two behind Colchester’s Aaron Donnelly for accurate long balls per 90 at 5.3.

Tom Naylor is Chesterfield’s only midfielder contracted for next season, with the loan of Metcalfe also up in the summer, so with multiple ins and outs expected in Cook's engine room, keeping hold of a 26-year-old, League Two quality player in Oldaker should be high on Cook’s to-do list.

It’s impossible to say when Town will see a decline in the likes of Naylor and Banks, but having been bitten by injuries to experienced players like Fleck and Kyle McFadzean, getting Oldaker tied down for another year would provide stability to Town’s future midfield.

Oldaker’s play-style is perfect for Cook’s possession-based system

The central midfielder’s age should be the only contributing factor to him being offered a new deal – his passing ability and eye for a goal make him the perfect Cook midfielder.

Now in his third season in Derbyshire, the Guildford-born midfielder is already enjoying his most fruitful season in a Town shirt, having made 26 appearances in the league, 23 of which starts, which ranks him behind only Naylor and Armando Dobra in the Chesterfield ranks.

With three goals, two of which were free-kicks, and four assists in League Two this campaign, of the players still at the club, only Will Grigg and Armando Dobra have contributed to more goals than Oldaker’s seven this campaign, already bettering last season’s tally of six.

Oldaker’s quality was put on show against in-form Doncaster, when he played an inch-perfect, defence-splitting, outside the foot pass through to Michael Olakigbe, who went onto to score his first goal for the club, and that’s the kind of magic Oldaker is capable of.

Chesterfield average the second-highest possession in League Two with 61% and, as a result, Oldaker averages the fourth most accurate passes per 90 in the league for midfielders, with only three players bettering his 4.5 accurate long balls.

Oldaker is by no means the perfect player, having been sent off twice this season, while he is prone to a mistake, but his improvement under the stewardship of Cook over the last three years has been there for all to see.

The former Dorking man recently turned 26 and is about to enter the best years of his career, and now a dependable League Two midfielder, with injuries plaguing much of Chesterfield’s season, he should be a shoo-in for a new deal.