NEWPORT County AFC manager Michael Flynn says he is in discussions with several players over new contracts.
Both Padraig Amond and Robbie Willmott have signed new deals so far in 2019, but County still have 12 players out of contract this summer.
Joe Day, David Pipe, Dan Butler, Mark O'Brien, Mickey Demetriou, Tyler Forbes, Joss Labadie, Andrew Crofts, Matty Dolan, Josh Sheehan, Will Randall and Momodou Touray will all be free agents at the end of this season.
“I’ve spoken to a handful of players,” said Flynn. “Some I’ll make decisions on later on and others will be released, which is part and parcel of the game.
“But these things take time. We don’t just say ‘there’s the deal, sign’ and it’s done.
“I wish it was that easy, but they’ve got families, they’ve got ambitions.
“And some them, who you were thinking of keeping, have lost form so things change.”
Figures released by the Football Association this week show that County spent just under £32,000 on agents’ fees between February 2018 and January 31 this year, up from £19,058 for the same period 12 months earlier.
The exact figure of £31,952 puts the Exiles 15th in the table in terms of fees paid to agents during that period.
Only nine teams – Yeovil Town (£27,931), Carlisle United (£27,431), Tranmere Rovers (£26,112), Swindon Town (£18,000), Exeter City (£14,490), Morecambe (£13,486), Crewe Alexandra (£10,638), Bury (£6,075) and Macclesfield Town (£1,000) – spent less than Flynn’s men.
The figures, made public in accordance with the requirements of the FIFA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries and the FA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries, show that League Two clubs paid a total of £940,555 to agents over the last two transfer windows.
The three County transfers listed as requiring payments to intermediaries were for Jamille Matt (James Tunnicliffe, Unique Sports Management) and Fraser Franks (Neil Cousins, Elite Management Agency) last summer and for Ade Azeez (Andrew Douglas, Platinum One Sports Management) this January.
Asked about the fees paid, Flynn said: “If it wasn’t necessary, we wouldn’t be paying it.
“What we have done as a football club is to cut the percentage that we pay agents. That was my recommendation to the board.
“It’s not always possible to do a deal without an agent – that’s just the way the football world is.
“There are some really good agents out there, and there are some really bad ones. But they’ve got to make a living.”
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