Chapman and Stevens among five Peterborough United players to be placed on the transfer list

Chapman started and finished the 2018-9 season as first-choice goalkeeper and made 37 appearances in total. He was signed on a free transfer from Accrington Stanley last summer. Posh have taken up the option of an extra year on their second squad goalkeeper Conor O’Malley.

Midfielders Callum Cooke, Mark O’Hara, winger Isaac Buckley-Ricketts and striker Matt Stevens have also been placed on the transfer list while Darren Lyon, Ryan Tafazolli, Morgan Penfold and Lewis Freestone have left the football club following the expiry of their contracts.

The club have also taken up the one-year contract option on winger Marcus Maddison.

Tyler Denton, Ben White, Josh Knight, Daniel Lafferty, Kyle Dempsey and Lee Tomlin have returned to their parent clubs.

Manager Darren Ferguson spoke with all of the players at the Mick George Training Academy today.

Ferguson said: “I have been in the building long enough to see the squad and know what I want moving forward. Some players need to go out and play regular first team football. We have started recruiting for next season with three players signed already and maybe five or six more to come.

“The players have got around seven weeks off before they return to pre-season training and I have told them the first couple of weeks needs to be complete rest. We have got our fixtures lined up for pre-season and will be heading to La Manga for five days, which will be important for the players in terms of bonding and with the owners there too, it will be a good opportunity to catch up for me and my staff too.

“I am looking forward to the summer. We have got some work to do but myself, my staff and the chairman have been working hard already. We know the areas we want to recruit and the character of the player is really important.”

Cooke. O’Hara and Buckley-Ricketts all joined Posh last summer. Cooke and Buckley-Ricketts have failed to make an impact all season, while O’Hara started strongly with three goals in his first two appearances before fading. He spent the second-half on loan at League Two champions Lincoln City who are understood to be interested in signing the midfielder permanently.

MIdfielder Cooke started just 16 games in all competitions and scored one goal. Winger Buckley-Ricketts made just two appearances in the Checkatrade Trophy after his summer move from Manchester City.

Striker Stevens has made just five substitute appearances for the first team in three years, despite scoring regularly at reserve and under 23 level for the club.