The O’s director of football revealed the club want to extend Bonne’s contract and discussed the future of transfer listed trio Caprice, Scales and Boco

East London Advertiser: Rommy Boco in action for Leyton Orient at Wrexham (pic: Simon O'Connor).Rommy Boco in action for Leyton Orient at Wrexham (pic: Simon O'Connor). (Image: 07958 573219 simon.oconnor@virgin.net)

Leyton Orient director of football Martin Ling has praised the level-headedness of Macauley Bonne and confirmed discussions have taken place with the forward about extending his contract at Brisbane Road.

The 22-year-old moved to the National League club last summer for an undisclosed fee from Colchester United and proved to be a big hit with the east Londoners.

Bonne scored 25 times in all competitions for Orient and his excellent return led to Justin Edinburgh revealing at the end of the season he’d like the forward to agree new terms with the O’s.

His current contract expires in the summer of 2019, but everyone associated with the Brisbane Road club are keen to increase the length of his deal.

Ling said: “Conversations have taken place between me and Macauley and extending his contract is something I would like to do, Justin would like to do and the club would like to do.

“It is early stages at the moment, but we have mooted about him staying longer and the signs at the moment are good.

“Like all these things, he may get a phone call tomorrow which we don’t hear about and a club want to buy him and then it pushes him in a different direction, but I know Macauley is quite level-headed.

“He realises he had a good season in this league, but he has only done it for one season and he has never played the amount of games he played last season and he has never been a first-choice before.

“I think he enjoyed being first-choice, so we need to play to our strengths and I certainly think that is one of them.”

Three players in the opposite boat are Jake Caprice, Christian Scales and Rommy Boco who have been transfer listed.

Ling insisted all three will be treated with respect while they remain contracted to the club, but admitted it is best for all parties if they can find new teams.

He added: “Rommy and Christian didn’t feature at all under Justin and Jake did at the start, but he is not what Justin requires from a full-back.

“Any time you have a new manager come in you are going to have some type of fall-out and I think that’s a minimum full-out just the three of them.

“They don’t fit in with the plans going forward in terms of what Justin wants from his team and how he wants his team playing, but they are still under contract at this football club and they will be treated with respect like every other player we have.

“We will see where it takes us, but at this moment in time it would be better for all three of them to move onto pastures new and they are of the understanding it would be better for them too.

“I have had conversations with all three of them and unfortunately it is always going to happen when a new manager comes in.”