Chesterfield have agreed contract extensions for defender Kyle McFadzean and midfielder John Fleck following three incomings in the past two days.

Manager Paul Cook has been able to retain the services of the two experienced players following the recent additions of Dilan Markanday, Adam Lewis and Ryan Stirk.

The duo, who both joined the Spireites after leaving Championship side Blackburn Rovers, have now penned new deals to remain with the Blues for the 2025/26 season, the club announced.

Spireites confirm extensions for experienced pair

The Derbyshire club have bulked their squad up to 21 players with their five recent arrivals, as McFadzean and Fleck become the latest to sign deals with the Blues.

The former was the first to be announced on Thursday and will add to the 12 appearances he made last season following his arrival from Rovers in January.

The 39-year-old suffered a knee injury in just his second game for the club but returned for the end-of-season run-in and featured in both legs of the play-off semi-final against Walsall.

The former Crawley Town and Coventry City defender impressed with his leadership qualities and will be an important part of a dressing room which already contains several experienced and proven winners as the Spireites aim for automatic promotion.

Fleck first signed terms with the Blues in September after being released by Blackburn last summer amid injury and fitness issues and took a while to get going at the SMH Group Stadium.

The 33-year-old Scottish midfielder, who was playing in the Premier League for Sheffield United less than two years ago, had to wait until April for his first league start for the club but established himself as a calm presence at the bottom of Chesterfield’s midfield, delighting fans with his passing ability.

He played 20 times in all competitions and, like McFadzean, started both legs against the Saddlers.

Cook now has valuable depth in important areas and, with the three signings of Markanday, Lewis and Stirk, who are all 25 or younger, also has a healthy blend of youth, energy and experience.

Can McFadzean and Fleck improve their fitness and availability?

Whilst the two players made a positive impression on Cook and the fanbase, they both suffered when it came to getting regular minutes due to injury issues.

From Fleck’s arrival on 10 September until the end of the season, he started just 10 matches out of a possible 48, with 10 more appearances off the bench.

He was unable to make his debut for two months due to a shin injury and a lack of match fitness prevented him from playing more than 21 minutes in a game for almost seven months after signing.

McFadzean’s spell was similarly affected by injury and he was set to potentially miss the remainder of the season, although he returned to action in April.

With both players nearing the end of their careers, it is extremely unlikely they will play in every game and, if they manage to each start roughly 30/35 games next season, it would probably be viewed as a success by the coaching team.

Cook will hope that a full pre-season under their belts will significantly improve their fitness and regular minutes at the start of the campaign should put them in good stead as it progresses.

Will they be first choice in their positions?

Once they both sustained their fitness well enough to start regularly, McFadzean and Fleck both played important roles in helping the Blues scrape into the play-offs on the final day of the season, to the surprise of many.

Heading into the 2025/26 campaign, they are both likely to be near the top of the pecking order in their respective positions.

Chey Dunkley, another player who had injury troubles last season, will be Cook’s number-one centre-back, with the former Wigan Athletic and Shrewsbury Town man having shown why he was an established League One defender in recent years.

With just captain Jamie Grimes and McFadzean as the only other centre-backs registered so far, they will compete with each other for the left-sided role and it is likely to be the latter who edges it with his experience and pedigree in the EFL.

In midfield, Fleck will battle with Tom Naylor and new signing Stirk for the two holding roles with no other central midfielders yet to be signed, although another younger option is likely to be brought in.

Fleck’s technical ability should make him a shoo-in for games where the Spireites will comfortably dominate in possession, but, in the few matches away from home where they may succumb to more sustained pressure, the more industrial and box-to-box duo of Stirk and Naylor may be favoured.