Chasetown will allow star to leave

Chasetown will allow star defender Chris Slater to leave for nothing – but will insist on a 50 per cent sell-on.

And the Scholars will keep manager Charlie Blakemore, despite speculation linking him with the vacant job at Stafford Rangers.

Slater again impressed as he was watched by scouts in Saturday's defeat by Championship side Cardiff as Chasetown's FA Cup dream finally ended.

Sheffield Wednesday were among the clubs who watched the 23-year-old former Wolves trainee, while Port Vale and Crewe have kept a watching brief for some time.

The club won't stand in the way of Slater's Football League dream – with one condition.

"We wouldn't ask for a fee for Chris Slater – we wouldn't want to stand in his way because he should be playing at that level," said chairman John Donnelly.

"But I would insist on a 50 per cent sell-on clause because he could be sold on for big money."

Donnelly revealed Cardiff boss Dave Jones said he was wrong to let Slater go when he was at Wolves.

Slater said: "It's nice of Dave to say that, I was pleased to have proved a point to him.

"It would be sad to leave, but if a League club came in for me, I'd have no regrets.

"It would be nice if I did get a move to give something back to the club because they have helped me so much."

Blakemore is hopeful of keeping his history-making team together.

"Who in their right mind would want to leave this? It's fantastic," he said.

"Myself and these lads know we've got something really special here and I hope they stay because they've got a magnificent team spirit and they showed on Saturday how good they are on the pitch."