It has been a mixed season for Sutton United upon their return to the National League after relegation from the EFL last season.
With a 1-1 draw at home against Woking on the final day of the season, the South London club have announced the departure of a number of key players. A total of 12 players will depart the VBS Community Stadium with a few of these loan players returning to their parent clubs alongside a few long serving players.
This article will take a look at those players departing Sutton and what it means for them looking towards the 2025-26 National League campaign.
How did Sutton United fare in the 2024-25 season?
Having been relegated from League Two after the 2023-24 season, there was anticipation from many that the club could compete for an instant return to the EFL. After an unbeaten run of five games to start the season, including a 5-0 win against Altrincham, the U’s suffered three defeats on the bounce.
This was the story of the season for Steve Morison’s side which included some impressive performances and results such as away wins at Southend United and York City. These victories were countered by a 4-1 thumping at Ebbsfleet United and a 0-3 defeat at home to Boston United when the Pilgrims were struggling at the beginning of the season.
Ranking 18th in the table based upon home form, it is clear to see why the South London side never broke into the play-offs for the majority of the season. Despite an impressive run in the National League Cup, there was disappointment in the FA Trophy having lost 2-0 at home to finalists Spennymoor Town in the quarter final.
Finishing eight points off the play-offs and eight points clear of relegation in 12th place sums up the inconsistent nature of Sutton’s season. With the squad departures confirmed today, Morison will be keen to add some additions to his squad in order to take the club up a gear and challenge for promotion back to the EFL in 2025-26.
Who has departed Sutton United?
As mentioned, a total of 12 players have departed Sutton after the culmination of the National League season. Five loanees have returned to their parent clubs including key figures such as Finley Barbrook (Ipswich Town), Besart Topallaj (Bromley) and Ashley Nadesan (Gillingham).
A number of long standing players have had their departures confirmed by the club, three of them signing in the summer of 2023. Winger Josh Coley is the most notable departure from the club.
The 26 year old has made 102 appearances for the South London club and was named captain for a number of games this season. The winger had nine goal contributions in the National League this season.
Another notable departure for the U’s is full-back Ryan Jackson. The 34 year old joined in the same summer as Coley and made 84 appearances for Sutton across the two seasons at the club.
Two goalkeepers have departed the VBS Community Stadium as well with Jack Rose and Steve Arnold leaving the club. Rose was the longest serving player on the books at Sutton having joined in 2022 but spent the 2024-25 season on loan at Hednesford Town.
Arnold was another key member of the U’s squad for much of his time with the club. The 35 year old made 42 appearances for the South London side and was first choice for Morison until injury provided the opportunity for Jack Sims to take the number one jersey.
Other departures for the club include Sam Roberts, Matt Kerbey and Jay Williams with very few of these making many, if any, appearances for the club.
What do these departures mean for Sutton United?
Given today’s departures, defender Jack Taylor is now the only member of the squad remaining from the club’s time in the EFL. The number of new players in the squad will have gone some way to explaining the inconsistent nature of the 2024-25 season.
One of the attributes of the squad that will be affected by today’s departures is the experience within it. Prior to today’s departures, the average age of Sutton’s squad was 25.1 years which was one of the youngest in the division.
This average age will decrease again given today’s announcement with just one player in the squad (Alex Woodyard) above the age of 26. Despite Morison’s desire to focus on youth development within the squad, this lack of experience could become a hindrance for Sutton should they fail to add some ‘older heads’ to the squad ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Coupled with this are the goals that have departed the squad that will need replacing. 27% of goals scored by the club this season have departed with Nadesan scoring eight and Coley scoring five.
Despite the majority of goals being scored by Will Davies (18), the U’s will hope that other attackers within the squad such as Dillon De Silva and Nana Boateng will improve on their goal totals from the 2024-25 season of one and zero respectively in order to replace those outgoing.
The departures of Jackson and Topallaj also leaves the South London side short in the right-back area. Morison may well rely on youth again to fill this position in the squad next season with academy graduate, Junior Eccleston, signing his first professional contract today.
After an inconsistent season back at National League level, Sutton will be hoping that the players signed last summer will benefit from a transition season during 2024-25. With a number of their current squad on contract, Morison will argue that with a few smart additions this summer the former EFL side could be challenging for the promotion back to League Two that the club craves next season.