Dean Smith closes in on Walsall FC loan target
Dean Smith was today edging closer to bolstering his Walsall squad after confirming a loan signing could arrive as soon as the weekend.
The Saddlers boss remains tight-lipped on the identity of his target, or even their position. Previously he confirmed the club were hunting two players, one of which was a forward.
Smith has now admitted discussions over one loan signing remain ongoing, while he is hopeful of adding at least one more new face by the end of the transfer window.
But he has not ruled out making further moves when the emergency loan window opens next month, should he not get the players he wants.
"We still have a couple of calls out there," he said. "We are talking with one club at the moment and we are hoping to have a decision certainly by the end of the weekend.
"It will be on loan. We are looking at bringing a couple in. But also the loan window opens again after. We are looking at a standard loan which will take it till the end of the season but when the loan window opens, we can look again."
With the Saddlers having become an increasingly attractive proposition for players in the past year and sitting seventh in League One, Smith admitted he has been bombarded with phone calls from agents in recent weeks.
But he said any arrivals must fit in with the club's wage structure after revealing they were priced out of the market for former Barnsley striker Chris Dagnall, who was snapped up by leaders Leyton Orient last week.
"I spoke to his (Dagnall's) agent but he certainly wasn't in our price range," said Smith, who also stressed any incoming players must also have the right character, adding: "That is the most important thing for us. The first thing we do when searching for players is find out their background in terms of their character.
"The big thing we have here is the camaraderie and team spirit, the togetherness that has been created not just by myself but by the players as well.
"You don't want to upset that so you have to get the right person to come into the group. That is what makes the search a lot harder as well.
"We have funds available but I won't pay over the odds."
