“Conversations have already started” over new deals for some of Leyton Orient’s out-of-contract personnel, says Ross Embleton.

Goalkeeper Sam Sargeant became the latest to commit his future to the club at the end of last week when he extended his stay until 2022.

And the boss confirmed that the club are in discussions with other players too, notably youngsters who they want to tie down to “bigger and longer deals”.

He said: “There’s a number that we’re working on – the obvious ones that are out there. We’ve got a number of players coming to the end of their deals, one or two are not going to be with us next year and that’s the way the game works and that’s life, things move on and evolve.

“At the same time, we’ve got a number of players, young players especially, that we’d like to secure down on bigger and longer deals and those conversations have already started. I’m hoping that in the next couple of weeks there will be some developments and progress to make sure that we know where we’re going with those players.”

As well as tying youngsters down, Embleton sees the importance in allow them to gain minutes elsewhere if game time is not going to be forthcoming at Orient.

That’s the position midfielder Brendon Shabani finds himself in, and the boss said that the club are exploring different options for him to go out on loan.

He said: “The plan is for Brendon to go out on loan. I’m hoping over today or tomorrow to know whether that’s going ahead.

“He’s a player with real potential like we’ve got with a number of young boys in the squad. Because of a knee injury this year the amount of football he’s been able to play has been restricted.

“He’s at a stage now where he’s out-grown youth football and he really needs to go and experience playing competitive football against men and in a new environment.”