Bailey Hobson, Tim Akinola and Kane Drummond must leave Chesterfield to secure Spireites future after double Paul Cook action | OneFootball

Paul Cook submitted Chesterfield's EFL squad list last week and there were some notable omissions, with three youngsters failing to make the cut.

Chesterfield submitted their official EFL squad list last week and, despite having used 38 players in the league this season, the second most in League Two, Paul Cook decided to leave two positions in his squad empty, with six players failing to make the final cut.

The experienced centre-back duo of Chey Dunkley and Kyle McFadzean were left out due to their ongoing injury issues, but there’s a possibility both will be back fit before the end of the season, with Town eligible to register either man at any time should they keep their two slots open.

Vontae Daley-Campbell has also been left out of the squad, having not featured in the league after getting injured in October, but the 23-year-old has played regularly in Chesterfield’s reserves in recent weeks as he looks to get back to full fitness.

Cook’s recent registration call has left the futures of Bailey Hobson, Tim Akinola and Kane Drummond up in the air, with the trio, who are all fully fit, not included in Chesterfield’s squad, and with their contracts up in the summer, as well as some recent comments from the boss, they may have to go out on loan to save their Town careers.

The trio have already benefited from National League loans this season

The youngsters have all struggled for regular game time this season, but they have all benefited from loan deals to clubs lower down the pyramid.

22-year-old Hobson, who spent part of last season on loan at National League Kidderminster Harriers, started the season in Cook’s squad, picking up regular minutes in the EFL Trophy and EFL Cup, where his energetic display against Derby County picked up plaudits from supporters.

Having failed to break into Cook’s strongest XI, Hobson joined Barnet in September and impressed in North London, starting 10 games for the Bees, scoring twice and assisting once, before he was recalled in December to help the Blues deal with an injury crisis.

After returning to Derbyshire, the former Alfreton Town man initially featured in Cook’s squad, playing a part in six successive league matches, but after failing to provide a goal contribution all season at Chesterfield, Hobson has not featured in a match-day squad in over a month.

Barnet are currently top of the National League, and despite this, Barnet fans are still calling for the attacking midfielder to return to the club, whether it be on loan, or permanently.

Drummond had also started the season in the Spireites’ first-team squad, having signed from lower-league Macclesfield in the summer, and his pace had caused problems off the bench when Will Grigg and Paddy Madden were both missing.

However, he didn’t look ready to lead the line as a loan striker in Cook’s 4-2-3-1 system, so he joined Oldham Athletic in October, having not scored in his opening seven Chesterfield appearances.

The 24-year-old started four games for the Latics, playing over 300 minutes of National League football before being recalled in December to retake his position of back-up striker due to Madden’s injury issues.

Drummond scored his first goal for Town upon his return in a 3-0 win against Tranmere, but the signing of Aribim Pepple in January has seemingly moved the 24-year-old down to fourth in Cook’s pecking order.

A striker with just one goal and one assist in 27 matches in all competitions this season, Drummond hasn’t quite shown the ability required to consistently perform at League Two level and will probably need a successful loan move to have any chance of securing a new deal this summer.

Akinola is the third young player who has been left out of Cook’s squad, and it’s hard to see the midfielder getting regular pitch time in Derbyshire.

The Arsenal academy product initially joined Town on loan in January 2023, and it was a success, making 26 appearances at the back end of the season, where Chesterfield reached the play-off final, but no permanent deal was struck in the off-season.

After a spell in Qatar, Cook brought Akinola to Derbyshire for the second time this summer, this time on a permanent deal, but the midfielder has found minutes hard to come by this season.

The former Lincoln City loanee didn’t play a minute for the National League champions in the league before he was loaned to Dagenham and Redbridge, where an injury kept the Nigerian-born midfielder out for over three months.

When Town were down to the barebones in December, Akinola was recalled to the squad, but he has once again failed to make an impact, playing just 17 minutes of football since his return.

There’s no doubt Akinola is a quality player on his day, Chesterfield fans and Cook saw this first-hand during his first spell at the club, but after a stop-start, injury-hit campaign, he needs to get back playing regular football if he has any chance of extending his current contract.

Paul Cook’s recent comments suggest departures are likely

If Cook’s squad list wasn’t enough to suggest the trio may have to look elsewhere for regular minutes, his recent comments doubled down on the fact that he wants his younger players to get playing football.

He told the Derbyshire Times: “We now have probably a couple too many (players). The younger lads in the group, they have got to play football. The only way in our game to improve and grow is to get better.”

“It is more of a case of who might be needed, who might go out on loan for 28 days that could still come into the squad.

“So we are just managing all the eventualities."

Chesterfield have used the Central League, a midweek, primarily youth-team and reserves league, to give squad players such as Drummond, Hobson, and Akinola minutes in recent weeks.

The trio all started in last week’s outing against Salford City, with Drummond and Hobson getting minutes against Preston North End on Tuesday, where the former netted a brace from the right-wing.

However, due to Chesterfield being out of all the domestic cups, reserve team football is their only real chance to impress, so a successful loan move may prove to be more beneficial if the three youngsters have any hope of remaining at the club next season.