Chester FC have sent letters out to Ryan Astles and academy graduates Tom Crawford and James Jones offering them new terms for next season.

The cash-strapped Blues have acted quickly to ensure that they offered deals within Uefa's 60-day rule to ensure that, should any of the three players move on, the club will be well protected when it comes to compensation with the three players all under the age of 24.

Central defender Astles, 23, joined Chester from Northwich Victoria in January 2016 and has gone on to make over 100 appearances for the club in all competitions, becoming a firm favourite with supporters in the process.

Midfielder Crawford, 18, and defender Jones, 19, are both products of the highly successful Chester academy programme that produced Leicester City's Sam Hughes.

Crawford has become a mainstay in recent weeks while Jones, who broke into the team before Christmas, has seen his efforts rewarded with an England C call up.

The offers to the players was revealed by director Calvin Hughes at a City Fans United board meeting on Thursday night.

Scouts have flocked to the Swansway Chester Stadium in recent months to cast their eyes over Crawford and Jones, while Astles has become a sought after commodity in the National League.

And with Chester needing to protect themselves financially, offers have been made to the trio to ensure that even if they decide to move on the club will be adequately compensated for their role in their development.

It was also revealed at Thursday's meeting that the club's budget would be 'severely reduced' next season from what it was this season.

The fundraising efforts from fans (£95,000), the money received from the James Alabi tribunal (£22,500) and the second instalment of the Hughes move to Leicester (£55,000), mean that the club has around £200,000 in the bank, with outgoings now at around £80,000 per month.

The Blues continue to cut costs and after the Thursday departures of Paul Turnbull and Liam Davies, Chester will have talks with another player later today about the possibility of ending their time with the club.