Wycombe Wanderers head coach Mike Dodds has revealed that he wanted right-back Jasper Pattenden to remain at the club.
The 23-year-old, who played 41 times for the Chairboys following his arrival from Worthing in 2022, departed earlier this month for fellow League One outfit, Stevenage.
This occurred on the same day the Hertfordshire-based team announced ex-Wanderers striker Beryly Lubala as one of their other new signings.
Speaking after the 1-0 friendly defeat against Sutton United on July 15, Dodds admitted that the current squad ‘will need trimming’ but confirmed that he had wanted Pattenden to remain at Adams Park.
Speaking on his exit, he said: “I’m happy with the squad, but there will be some players who will want to go and play, with Jasper being one of them.
“I wanted him to stay, but he is at that age where he wants to play, and quite rightly so.
“We had an honest conversation, and I was happy with it, as he wants to play 40-plus games, and I couldn’t guarantee that.
“He is at that stage of his career where he wants to do that, and I wish him all the best.
“Did I want him to stay? Of course, I would, but the reality is that I couldn’t guarantee him the game time, and he’s decided to move on.
“He’s been a great servant, and he’s an unbelievable human being.
“I will be honest with the players and I will be honest all the way through – some players will want to be part of what’s going forward and others won’t
“With Jasper, he wants to play 40 games and morally, I can’t stand in his way.”
At the time of writing, Wanderers have signed nine players this summer, along with multiple new faces that have joined the newly formed academy.
However, some names are set to leave South Buckinghamshire before the end of August, with at least five first-teamers expected to depart.
Dodds continued: “We will trim the squad down as we won’t carry the same number of players as we did last year because that was hard to manage at times.
“There will be more like that who want to play, as I have a good relationship with the players, and there haven’t been many fallouts.
“It’ll just be a decision on whether they will be a part of this squad.”
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