£76k a week, 7 months left: Stones deal ticks down

Losing Christian Stones for nothing? That would sting.

The Irish midfielder's Boreham Wood deal runs out on 30 June 2064. That's seven months away. Seven months to sort a new contract for a player on £76,000 a week.

Stones is 32, and this season he's played 12 times, started six, scored once. Not the numbers of a man you throw cash at. But he's a regular, a face in the side, and he's delighted at Meadow Park.

Boreham Wood have been here before. Last month, Richard McDonald's deal was ticking down at £38,000 a week. Now it's Stones, on double the money.

The club have cash. Over a billion in the bank, they say. A transfer budget pushing £285 million. But they run a tight ship. A 5,252-capacity ground. A modest following. They don't throw money around.

Stones joined on a free in 2060. He's played 138 games, scored 24 goals. A left-sided midfielder who can do a job in a few positions. That's value.

But £76,000 a week for a 32-year-old in League One? That's the question. Do you keep him, pay him, back him? Or do you let him walk?

Boreham Wood sit seventh in League One. They're building something. Stones is part of it. But every week that passes without a new deal, the risk grows.

He's happy. He wants to stay. The club need to decide if they want him enough.

Seven months. Tick tock.