David Artell says he has learned a lot from dealing with players’ agents over the last few transfer windows and he appreciates how much of an influence they have over players in the modern era.

Artell admitted that the re-signing of James Jones, Charlie Kirk and Callum Ainley this summer was not as straight forward as it might have been, but his patience and persistence paid off with all three Crewe youngsters committing their future in the final week of the season.

It was some coup by the Football Club as Jones was subjected to a bid from a Championship club in January and Ainley rejected a lucrative financial package to sign elsewhere this summer.

Artell believes he is learning all the time when it comes to contract negotiations: “Dealing with agents is a major part of the job. It can be challenging and difficult at times but they have a job to do for their client and you have to find a solution.

“There is no point falling out with them because that just makes things even more difficult. You have to put your point of view over to them and hopefully you all decide what is best for the player.

“The three players took a bit of time to sign but they were good throughout. They never said they wanted to leave and that is all I needed to hear. That is why I was optimistic.

“We had some discussions with their agents over one or two things but we got there in the end. If I am being honest, I thought their agents were very good. They had their opinions and we had ours and in the end, the patience paid off.

“I’ve always said that if they are ready to move on then we would not stand in their way. That is what we did with George Cooper in January and have done in the past before I was manager.

He added: “Some players may want to go for more money and that is what might float their boat but I don’t think there is any point if they are not playing games.

“I said to all three of them that they have to be ready to step up and play higher and when I mean play, I mean to play in the first-team every week. That is the level they are aiming for.”