David Artell has told the club’s official website that he is delighted that Ryan Wintle has agreed to sign a new contract with the club to take him through to the summer of 2020. Wintle, 20, did not hesitate to pen a new deal with Crewe Alexandra after really establishing himself as a first team regular under Artell.

The former Alsager Town youngster has now amassed 33 appearances in all competitions and he scored his only goal for the club in a crucial 3-0 win over Leyton Orient back in April.

The Crewe Alexandra boss told us: “Ryan has signed a new two and half year contract and I am delighted. We all are. I think we have really missed him since he has been injured. He is one of our consistent players and a lot of the things he does for the team go unnoticed.

“I played with players like Ryan all my career and you don’t realise how influential they are until they are not there. Ryan is one of those types. He is a consistent 7 or 8 every week and helps his team-mates.

“He has great character and attitude. He will run through brick walls for you and he is a very good footballer as well. He has that calm and steady influential that we have missed in midfield.

“He is still only 20 and at the start of his career, but he has a big future ahead of him. He knows he is at the right club where he can develop his skills and there will be bigger and better things from him in the future.

“Ryan knows what this club has done for him and the opportunity it has given him. He was brilliant and so was his agent, (ex-Crewe striker Lee Matthews). We agreed everything, he came in and signed. Done and dusted and not a problem.”