Wait for Weso

Photo: PICTURE: ALAN HOWARTH

WILL HE STAY OR WILL HE GO? . . . James Wesolowski (right) and his Athletic team-mates applaud the fans after the last game of the season against Notts County on Saturday. Wesolowski is mulling over the verbal offer of a new contract.

LEE Johnson estimates his chance of landing James Wesolowski on a new contract at 50-50.

Discussions with Wesolowski’s agent Tam Byrne resulted in a verbal offer ahead of tonight’s club awards dinner - at which the Sydney-born star is likely to pick up multiple prizes.

Other clubs will probably try for the out-of-contract 26 year old, who is approaching a century of league appearances for Athletic, but Johnson remains hopeful Wesolowski will opt to stay.

“I think he genuinely wants to stay,” said the manager. “I like Weso a lot and want to keep him. We will try to find a happy medium where everyone is content.”

Jonathan Grounds is “99 per cent” set to leave for pastures new.

On a more positive note, James Wilson’s contract option has been taken up, Adam Lockwood will be staying too and after Danny Philliskirk signed a two-year contract on Friday, Johnson is to retain Carl Winchester with a view to loaning him out in 2014-15.

“We won’t be able to offer him 40 games next year, but I’m hoping someone else will,” said Johnson of Winchester.

Athletic have until the third week in May to make decisions on players with options on their current deals, including David Mellor, Genseric Kusunga, Charlie MacDonald and Anton Rodgers.

“On a couple who are 50-50, it will be determined by who else is around in the market,” Johnson said.

“We have our targets, but a lot of our targets will be others’ too, as we are looking at good players.”

The task for Johnson now is to improve a squad which finished the campaign 15th in the division.

“In a perfect world your starters drop to the bench and you bring in quality over the top of that,” he added. “Of course, it doesn’t work like that. We are talking about progression and we want to make ourselves better.