Zesh Rehman has been offered the chance to sign permanently for City, Stuart McCall today revealed.

The Pakistan international defender, who has spent the last three months on loan from QPR, is among the players McCall wants to keep in his streamlined squad for next term.

Matt Clarke, Lee Bullock, player of the season Luke O’Brien, Joe Colbeck, Leon Osborne and Jon McLaughlin are also getting offers. Youngsters Luke Sharry and Matthew Convey will be given six-month deals.

Top scorer Peter Thorne will sit down with McCall next week to see if he can figure in City’s future plans.

As reported in the T&A yesterday, Rhys Evans and Mark Bower have both been released. Paul Heckingbottom, who spent most of last season injured, has also gone, as well as Barry Conlon.

Kyle Nix has not been made an offer but McCall said he can come back for pre-season to try his luck again if he is not fixed up elsewhere.

McCall would also love to keep the likes of Nicky Law, Dean Furman and Steve Jones.

He has spoken with the loan trio and “is trying to do everything in his power” to bring them back but admits he is not in a position to make anything concrete.

McCall was sitting down with the two club chairmen today to see how much cash will be available in the new contracts.

But apart from the likes of lower earners O’Brien and Colbeck, who can expect a rise, the wage offers will be less than before.

McCall said: “Just because people are getting offers, it doesn’t mean they will accept them. They are all going to be on reduced money but that’s the way of the world at the moment.

“But hopefully we can offer something that’s a good enough incentive package to keep them.”

McCall’s hand will be strengthened if he can get the highest earners moved on. City are hoping that Paul McLaren, Graeme Lee and Michael Boulding all take up the options in their contracts to find another club.

Chris Brandon is another whose future is shrouded in doubt because of the need to cut costs.

If McCall cannot shift any of them, it will impact heavily on the much-reduced wage budget, which has been slashed by more than a third for next season.

Rehman partnered Clarke at centre half for the first time at Chesterfield and his offer indicates skipper Lee is no longer part of McCall’s thinking.

McCall said: “Zesh and Clarkey did well as a pair on Saturday. Sometimes facts can blind you but in the four games Zesh played down the middle, we only conceded one goal.

“It’s value for money we’re looking for and Zesh has shown he can fill the position for us.”