Fleetwood Town hoping to extend veteran's spell at Highbury?

Whelan initially joined the club on a short-term deal towards the end of January after leaving Scottish side Hearts.

The Republic of Ireland international proved to be an important player in Joey Barton’s team, filling the gap created by Jordan Rossiter’s absence with a knee ligament injury.

The 36-year-old paired up well with Paul Coutts in the Town midfield as they eventually ended the season in a play-off place, only to be beaten in their semi-final tie by Wycombe Wanderers.

Upon his arrival, Barton had lauded the former Stoke City man for the ‘elite’ career he had enjoyed, including 91 international appearances as well as helping Aston Villa to the Premier League at the end of the 2018/19 season.

Senior, experienced players are valued by Town’s head coach and he praised the impact that Whelan had around the club.

Should Whelan remain at Highbury next season, then it would boost Barton’s options as they bid to bounce back from that play-off disappointment.

Of those players who featured in the play-offs, four loanees – Harry Souttar, Callum Connolly, Lewis Gibson and Barrie McKay – have returned to their parent clubs with Kyle Dempsey seemingly set to depart as well.

However, it’s understood that further loan arrivals at Highbury are likely later in the window, once clubs have had a chance to reassess their younger prospects.