Morecambe will be playing in the National League North next season, following their relegation from the fifth tier and with that comes the difficulties of attempting to retain their key players.
The Shrimps missed the start of last season due to uncertainty regarding the club’s ownership, but following the successful takeover of Panjab Warriors in mid-August, the club were eligible to compete in the National League but sadly weren’t able to avoid another relegation.
Despite a late effort under a returning Jim Bentley following his return to the club in February, Morecambe finished the season in 22nd place and were relegated to regionalised football for the 2026/27 campaign.
Unsurprisingly, this has led to a major restructure in terms of players for the next campaign, with the club being the latest to announce their retained list with some key decisions to be made. You can access the full list of all National League retained lists here.
Morecambe confirm contract talks with star
Following their relegation from the National League, Morecambe (now managed by Adam Lakeland) announced that 18 players had been released by the football club – with the vast majority of those having signed short-term contracts when joining the club.
The list includes some standout names including former Coventry City forward George Thomas, former Birmingham City defender Harlee Dean and experienced midfielder Yann Songo’o.
However, seven additional players face uncertain futures at present, with talks between themselves and the club still ongoing. Within that is one key player, with whom Morecambe supporters are highly likely to want to see stay and that is standout forward Jack Nolan.
Nolan scored 19 league goals for the Shrimps last season, as well as providing eight additional assists in just 37 appearances in the National League. This included a hat-trick against Sutton United in March during a 5-0 win, at a time when Morecambe appeared to be lodging a fierce battle to avoid the drop.
Unfortunately for Morecambe supporters, the 24-year-old is out of contract this summer but is in talks regarding a new deal. However, this does also mean that he is free to discuss transfers to other clubs, which in turn may allow him to stay in the fifth tier or push for a return to the EFL.
Is Nolan better off staying with Morecambe?
When you look at Nolan’s statistics for Morecambe, it paints a picture of a season containing two miniature campaigns within it. Under Ashvir Johal Singh, Nolan contributed to nine goals in 22 appearances across all competitions but was on a four-match drought at the time of the managerial change.
When Bentley returned, Nolan’s form quickly improved. He scored on the manager’s first game back against Altrincham, before going on to contribute to 17 further goals in just 17 matches, but even this wasn’t enough to save Morecambe from relegation.
Though nothing has been reported, the 24-year-old’s form has likely attracted plenty of attention ahead of next season, which gives him a dilemma that needs to be solved.
Nolan’s form improved significantly under Bentley, it has already been confirmed that the latter won’t be in the dugout next season. Similarly, Nolan has been averaging a goal contribution per game since February at fifth-tier level, which may tempt him to depart this summer.
However, the 24-year-old could take some inspiration from Scunthorpe United‘s Cal Roberts. Roberts joined then-National League North side Scunthorpe from Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen, but despite the drop in divisions, he has stayed loyal to the club and has enjoyed his fair share of goal contributions and individual honours as a result.
Roberts hit double figures in his first season and opted to stay despite the club’s failure to secure promotion back to the fifth tier and was almost promoted this season via the National League play-offs. If Nolan follows suit, he could maintain his impressive form and that in turn could make him a bigger hero with the Shrimps.
With a decision yet to be made, Morecambe fans face an increasingly anxious wait to find out the future of their star man.
One Response
Almost to a man all Shrimp fans would love to see Jack staying at the club for another season but understand that he will almost certainly be on the radar of other clubs.
However sometimes the grass instead always greener elsewhere has numerous footballers have found out to their cost.
All Jack would wish to do is to play football on a regular basis. something that he is guarenteed to do at Morecambe where as elsewhere if he doesn’t score or create goals on a regular basis he could find himself on the bench which he has expeienced elsewhere.