'No chance' Tezgel & O'Reilly will return to Crewe

Crewe Alexandra manager Lee Bell said although he would "snap your hand off" at the opportunity to re-sign striker Emre Tezgel and midfielder Tommi O'Reilly next season there is "no chance" of the pair returning to the League Two club.

Both players were integral parts of the Alex side in 2025-26, with Stoke loanee Tezgel scoring 10 goals from 31 appearances, despite missing nearly three months of the campaign through injury.

Aston Villa's O'Reilly, 22, started all 46 league games and contributed 12 assists as Crewe's play-off challenge ultimately ran out of steam over the last six matches as they finished 11th, 11 points off the top seven.

As Bell plans the club's summer recruitment, he said the impact Tezgel and O'Reilly had showed him that they will not be coming back to League Two level any time soon.

"If one of them could come back to this club, I'd snap your hand off, but there's not a chance," Bell told BBC Radio Stoke.

"I'd be very surprised to see them playing in League Two ever again - not until they get about 35 and they're winding down.

"No, we definitely won't be able to get them. I'll try, but there's no chance."

Although admitting defeat on their potential return, Bell said using the loan market to help develop talented young players like Tezgel, O'Reilly and Wolves defender Alfie Pond, will be something Crewe will try to replicate this summer.

"Loans will be important again and I think they will be for a long time. If we're able to get your Tezgels and your Tommis for what we pay and they perform the way they do and it benefits both parties, I don't think there's a reason why we shouldn't do it," Bell said.

"[Technical director] Josh [Kennard] will be working hard. We're working on the more permanent ones. If we can, there'll be a couple of them coming in.

"The loans, generally, we're getting them from Premier League clubs, will happen during pre-season because they'd like to keep them in for a little bit and send them to wherever they go and we'll move it on from then.

"They're going to be massively important. Tommi and Tez have been exceptional this year, they're way above the standard that they were playing at, so we've got a look at doing it again."

Having overseen the release of seven players, and with seven more considering the club's offer of new contracts, Bell said the club will be "very selective" over their targets with any potential recruit's personality "key to what we want to do".

"We've got to really take our time and make sure it's right for everybody.

"The right players are coming to the club, so it's not going to be done in the next couple of weeks."