SAMMIE Szmodics expects talks to take place about his Colchester United future in the coming weeks, amid speculation that he has played his final game for the club.

The 23-year-old attacker, who finished the season as the U’s top scorer with 15 goals, is due to see his existing contract expire next month and has been linked with a move to the Championship.

Colchester-born Szmodics, who scored twice in his side’s 3-0 win at Lincoln City in their final game of the League Two season, has been attracting interest from higher-placed clubs for some time.

Szmodics said: “I’m sure my agent and the people at Colchester will be working hard to come to some agreement.

“I’ve been here since I was six and if you search my name everywhere, there’s speculation about me leaving but I just leave that up to people off the pitch like the agents and the club.

“I’m sure they’ll be in talks over the next couple of weeks.

“It’s football and no-one knows what’s going to happen.

“It’s been a fantastic 16 years for me at Colchester.

“I’ve got the summer and a break now to look forward to.

“I’ll take a break from football for two or three weeks and then I’ll start my pre-season plan and see where I’ll be playing my football next season, if it’s Colchester or elsewhere.

“I just concentrate on playing my football and I’ve got through another season injury free, which has allowed me to express myself and go and get 15 goals and eight assists.

“Wherever I’m playing my football, people know I work hard and know if I do leave, it’s not out of spite.

“Football is a short career and people have got to go and play at the highest level and really test themselves.

“If it is my last game or if it isn’t, I think I’ve given enough to the club and to the fans to prove my worth.”

Szmodics was left devastated after Colchester missed out on a play-off place in cruel fashion, on the final weekend of the season.

The U’s had been on course to finish seventh after beating Lincoln but Newport County’s late equaliser at Morecambe means John McGreal’s side will now spend a fourth successive season in League Two.

“We won 3-0 but we came off the pitch absolutely gutted because we missed out on the play-offs,” said former Stanway School pupil Szmodics.

“We’ve beaten the champions twice this season home and away, scoring four goals and not conceding one.”

Szmodics’ final goal tally for the season was the best of his career to date.

“It was brilliant for me – I finished on 15 goals which was two better than last year,” added Szmodics, who made his senior U’s debut in September, 2013.

“Hopefully next year, I can score even more.

“I just have to keep progressing and working hard.

“They were probably two of the easiest goals I’ll ever score (against Lincoln).

“I don’t know why I didn’t volley the first one but it’s come off the top of my head and gone in, so I’ll take it.

“For the second goal, I’ve closed down goalies all season and hoped to get a deflection and when I saw the ball and the empty net, I was over the moon.

“To get that 3-0 at half-time gave us a good hold of the game.”