Thompson set for Bury switch

David Flitcroft has confirmed Bury will offer a deal to former Tranmere midfielder Joe Thompson following his recovery from cancer.

The 25-year-old revealed on his Twitter account in June that he had been given the all-clear by doctors in his battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma disease, which he was diagnosed with back in November when with Rovers. Back in May Tranmere announced their retained list and said they would discuss the future of Thompson, who was then out of contract, with the player, his medical team and the PFA. However, Thompson has since been training with Bury and after playing in the pre-season friendlies against Blackburn and his former club Rochdale last week, the Shakers appear set to offer him a chance to return to football with them. "We're looking at a play-as-you-earn contract with Joey," Flitcroft explained to the media following Saturday's 3-3 draw with Dale. "He"s shown enough in pre-season to convince us his body's going to come back to full strength. He's still not there and his body's took one hell of a knock. But I do feel as though he's done enough and the type of wage we're looking at will give him a chance to work with us. We've got a good enough team here so he can get his body strength back, but it is coming." Thompson himself expressed his gratitude at being given an opportunity by former Rochdale assistant Flitcroft, while suggesting Tranmere were reluctant to offer him a new deal. In a series of tweets, he said: "@buryfcofficial have given me the opportunity to rebuild my life and get my career back on track! For that I'm truley grateful! "I like to thank all the @tranmererovers fans and a certain few members of staff for supporting me throughout the nightmare year! BUT.... "YOU CAN'T SIGN ON A DOTTED LINE THAT ISN'T THERE! #sadtimes but life moves on! Looking forward to the future #football #buryfc #shakers"