STUART McCall has no issue with Tony McMahon taking his time before committing to stay with City.

The defender yesterday put pen to paper on a new one-year deal to end the speculation concerning his future.

McCall is delighted to have nailed down another experienced head among his youthful squad.

The City chief himself admitted that he had expected McMahon to move on because of the offers being bandied around from other clubs.

And he did not blame McMahon for considering all his options first.

McCall said: “Regarding people saying he took his time, Tony never once said he was desperate to leave the club.

“But when you’ve got a couple of clubs that are offering almost double your salary, it’s only natural that it’s something you look into. You’d be a fool not to.

“I know a couple of other League One clubs who were offering him far more money than we are.

“But he’s settled in the area he is and he enjoys playing for the football club.

“Obviously he got a couple of good offers over the close season that may not have materialised for one reason or another.

“We thought he would be moving on and were looking elsewhere. But it’s turned out that he’s come back with us and we’re really pleased with that.”

Blackburn, Peterborough, Wigan, Preston and Bolton were among the clubs who had shown an interest in McMahon at some point. There was at least one rival offer on the table.

McMahon, who has made 88 appearances since joining City in March 2015, now becomes the club’s longest-serving player after the departure of history-making trio James Meredith, Stephen Darby and Rory McArdle.

McCall added: “From a football point of view, Macca had a strong season and his quality from back to front was pretty good.

“You also need some wily characters on the park and he has that experience with referees and things like that.

“The ones we looked at (as possible replacements) were primarily younger ones. But you see the age group we’ve brought in and you need that mix and he’s got the experience.

“He knows what to expect, it’s not as if he’s got to settle in or anything. He knows the expectancy of the club and the supporters.

“There were a lot of clubs very interested in Macca so it’s a good one for us getting him to re-sign.”

City have also tied down goalkeeper Rouven Sattelmaier for next season and expect to unveil Wimbledon midfielder Jake Reeves within the next 24 hours. It is understood a deal has been agreed between the two clubs around the £150,000 mark.

The club are in line for another windfall from their sell-on clause in Andre Wisdom’s move from Liverpool to Derby.

Wisdom, who was at Valley Parade as a schoolboy, yesterday joined the Championship club for an undisclosed fee. Sources claim that could be worth up to £4.5m.

City are likely to see a lump sum of about £300,000 from the initial money, thought to be £2m, with a further 20 per cent to come from any further add-ons.