Boss says defender chose to move to get more game time with Walsall

David Artell has told the club’s official website that Donervon Daniels’ move to Walsall is a ‘wise move for everyone’ and he admits that he wishes the experienced defender had been fitter for longer so he could have made more appearances for Crewe. Daniels had his contract terminated by mutual consent and duly signed for the Saddlers.

Artell says that the popular defender goes with our best wishes after making 30 appearances for the club in all competitions.

On the 28-year-old centre-half, Artell said: “We don’t need to move players out and I basically had a conversation with Donervon and said that at the moment if his situation carried on until the summer then he probably wouldn’t be here next year, so I left it with him to decide if we wanted to take the plunge now and get fixed up or wait to go out of contract with 1000s more in the summer.

“He was receptive to that and he signed for Walsall. I think it is a wise move for everyone, especially for Donervon. He has more chance of playing games there and more chance of staking a claim. It is a sensible move and he really goes with our best wishes.

He added: “He is a lovely bloke, articulate and engaging and I really liked him. He is a well-rounded guy and was not an ounce of trouble. The only thing I would have wanted is for him to have been fitter for longer, so he could have played more games for us.”