Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell has revealed that Callum Ainley rejected lucrative terms from another club to commit his future to the club.
Ainley, 20, signed a new three-year-deal yesterday and Artell has been quick to praise the players’ loyalty and commitment. Ainley is set to mark his 100th career appearance tomorrow against Cheltenham Town, which is an incredible achievement for a young player who is yet to turn 21.
Artell told crewealex.net: “Callum had interest from another club. There were no offers or bids coming in - but the figures surrounding what he could have earned personally was a lot of money.
“I won’t talk about the figures mentioned but Callum Ainley has turned down a lot of money to stay at this Football Club and I cannot praise him or his family enough. I can only thank them for that.
“If anyone doubts the commitment of Callum Ainley then let me assure you, he has shown terrific loyalty.
“He has been terrific all the way through. He has always said that he ‘didn’t want to go’ and that he wanted to continue his development here with us.
The boss added: “I was honest with him. I told him that he wasn’t quite ready and he agreed. We talked about him being consistent and being 8,9,9 out of 10 every Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday.
“He doesn’t think he is there yet either and we have just told him that when he is ready to go higher, he has to be mentally and physically ready to do that Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday. “