Morecambe boss backs former Port Vale midfielder to replace fans' favourite

The 23-year-old became another of the Shrimps’ seven summer arrivals when joining from Port Vale at the start of July.

He reinforced their midfield options, which had been somewhat depleted come the end of the 2021/22 season with the departure of Toumani Diagouraga, along with loan pair Alfie McCalmont (Leeds United) and Adam Phillips (Burnley).

Wildig had been offered a new deal but the 30-year-old turned it down and joined Newport County AFC.

However, as Adams admitted, the departure wasn’t entirely out of the blue.

“Aaron Wildig leaving wasn’t a surprise,” he said.

“Under the previous manager (Stephen Robinson), he had put his house up for sale because he didn’t think he was going to get that opportunity (regular football).

“He had moved back down south and was always going (to leave).

“He then sold his house and, when I came back, he was living in hotels and with relatives.”

At the time of his departure, Wildig was Morecambe’s longest-serving player, having spent seven years at the club and played more than 250 times.

Seventy-two of those appearances came during Adams’ two spells at the helm, scoring 16 times in the process.

Goalscoring midfielders can be worth their weight in gold but Adams has backed Taylor to make the step up.

The manager said: “We’ve taken on Jake Taylor, who is very similar to Aaron.

“He’s younger as well and we feel he can play in a similar role to Aaron.”