Akins among five Mansfield players to sign new deals
Lucas Akins (left) featured in all of Mansfield's FA Cup matches this season including the defeat to Arsenal
- Published
Striker Lucas Akins is among five Mansfield Town players to sign new one-year deals with the League One club.
The 37-year-old's new contract comes less than a year after he was released from prison after he admitted to causing the death of cyclist Adrian Daniel in March 2022 by careless or inconsiderate driving.
He served six months of a 14-month sentence and immediately returned to play for Mansfield following his release in October.
He went on to score 10 goals in 34 appearances, and was recalled to play for Grenada at international level later in the season.
When Akins was released from prison last year, Mansfield Town manager Nigel Clough said the player will "forever be conscious" of the death he caused and that the club's hierarchy did "not want to keep on punishing him for what was a tragic accident".
"He will live with it for the rest of his life, but he has served his time now. And it's time that he gets on with his life," Clough told BBC Sport in October 2025.
Defenders Jordan Bowery, 34, Elliott Hewitt, 31, and Stephen McLaughlin, 35, as well as 30-year-old midfielder George Maris are the other Stags players to sign contract extensions.
While all the signings are in their 30s, Stags boss Clough says he does not doubt the physical capabilities of them all continuing to deliver for the Nottinghamshire club.
"I don't think another year will change anything," Clough told BBC Radio Nottingham.
"We look at the physical data. As they get to their mid 30s, are they showing signs of slowing down or dipping with their physical abilities?
"That has not been the case with any of them. Lucas' stats have gone through the roof in the past six months. So I don't see any reason to make changes."
Clough described former Huddersfield Town and Burton Albion forward Akins, who will be be preparing for his 20th season as a professional, as a "physical freak".
"The 37 age belies his abilities. He is one of those players that will probably play to 40 or 41 or something like that at some level, without a doubt, because he works unbelievably hard in the summer and everything to maintain that level," Clough said.
