Exclusive: Cheltenham, Fleetwood Town & Harrogate Town submit contract offers for Carlisle United captain | OneFootball

Fleetwood, Cheltenham and Harrogate Town have all made offers for out of contract Carlisle defender Sam Lavelle, FLW understands.

Fleetwood Town, Cheltenham Town and Harrogate Town have all made offers for out of contract Carlisle United defender Sam Lavelle, Football League World has exclusively been informed.

The 28-year-old centre-back has been a key player for the Cumbrians over the last two seasons, captaining the side this past campaign, but has been confirmed in the club's retained list as departing Brunton Park this summer.

Despite an upturn in performances and results since the appointment of Mark Hughes in February, Carlisle couldn't escape the drop last term, and will be playing their football in the National League for 2025/26.

Fleetwood, Cheltenham and Harrogate all finished within seven points of each other in the fourth tier last season, and will all have aspirations of a top-half finish next year.

Fleetwood, Cheltenham & Harrogate set to battle for Sam Lavelle's signature

Football League World has exclusively been informed that Fleetwood, Cheltenham and Harrogate have all tabled offers for out of contract Carlisle defender Sam Lavelle.

The former Scotland youth international joined the Cumbrians in the summer of 2023 from Charlton Athletic.

A product of Blackburn Rovers' academy system, Lavelle failed to make a senior appearance for Rovers before departing for Bolton Wanderers in for the 2016/17 season.

However, he also failed to ever make a competitive appearance for the Trotters, before eventually kickstaring his senior career with a move to Morecambe in the summer of 2017.

He would go on to make 165 appearances for the Shrimps, and even captained the club to a League Two play-off final win in 2021, cementing his legacy as one of the club's best defenders in recent times.

Lavelle would find it hard to carve out a large role at Charlton though, and after a brief loan stint with Burton Albion, he would eventually sign for Carlisle.

Sam Lavelle would be a shrewd signing for any of Fleetwood, Cheltenham or Harrogate

Despite Carlisle's relegation from League Two this past season, Lavelle certainly proved himself to be a quality defender at fourth tier level.

A confident, duel-winning, ball-playing centre-back who must be accounted for in both boxes, the 28-year-old was undoubtedly one of the Cumbrians' standout players in 2024/25.

As such, on a free transfer no less, the Scotsman would present as a highly shrewd capture for any of Fleetwood, Cheltenham and Harrogate respectively.

Each one of those clubs all had issues keeping the ball from hitting their own net last term, with Fleetwood shipping 60 league goals, Harrogate 61 and Cheltenham 70 respectively.

Therefore, adding a proven and experienced central defender like Lavelle would bolster their respective defensive units significantly, and as such, his signature would surely be one that would be welcomed by fans of all three of those clubs.