Tranmere Rovers confirms player departures

Tranmere Rovers’ League Two season ended on Saturday with a 4-1 defeat at Accrington Stanley, and the club has revealed their retained list, indicating which players will stay or leave Prenton Park.

Luke McGee, Joe Murphy, Lee O’Connor, Tom Davies, Connor Wood, Brad Walker, Regan Hendry, Josh Hawkes, Kieron Morris, Harvey Saunders, Sam Taylor, Kristian Dennis, and Connor Jennings are all under contract for the 2024/25 season.

Jordan Turnbull’s contract has been extended by a year after the defender fulfilled a contractual requirement, while Rovers has exercised its option to keep Chris Merrie for another season.

Rovers have announced that they are in conversation with Luke Norris about a new deal.

The most significant setback for Rovers will be the revelation that Rob Apter will return to his parent club Blackpool after an exceptional loan season in which he was crowned League Two Young Player of the Season at the EFL Awards 2024.

James Norris will return to Liverpool, while Jake Leake will return to Hull City.

Jean Belehouan, Mikey Davies, Ben Hockenhull, Rhys Hughes, Charlie Jolley, Ousmane Kane, Luis Lacey, Paul Lewis, Reece McAlear, Dan Pike, Conor Robson, Joe Starbuck, and Joe Yarney will all leave Prenton Park after their contracts expire.

Nigel Adkins, Tranmere manager, said: “I’d like to thank all of the players who are leaving us and wish them the best of luck in the future.”

“We already have a group of players on board who we know will do well in this division next season, but there is still room to bring in nine to ten more over the summer to reach the group of 25 that I’m looking for. That takes time, but we’re in a fantastic position to start, and there’s a plan to bring some good players in to assist bolster the squad.”