Walsall working hard in transfer market – Dean

The Saddlers have bolstered their ranks with three additions this summer following the arrivals of Andy Cook, Josh Ginnelly and Chris Dunn.

But with the squad light on numbers, fans are keen to see more additions.

And while Keates has made offers to players, he also stressed the need for patience.

“It’s a waiting game at the moment,” the boss said.

“It is slow but from speaking to people, it’s the same for everyone – it’s not just ourselves.

“We have got offers out there. But it’s still mid-June.

"And players do what they do, they want to wait to see what their best option is or who will offer the most money.

“Football League contracts don’t terminate until June 30.

"Then there is the severance pay throughout July. It will pick up soon.”

Keates feels the ongoing World Cup is one of the reasons the transfer market has so far been slow – with the vast majority of clubs having only made a few additions while some teams are yet to make their first addition of the window.

“We have taken a couple of lads from non-league,” the boss continued.

“But they are the easy ones because as soon as the season finishes in non-league, that’s when the contracts finish.

“At the end of the season, those players haven’t got a job.

“But with most transfers there is often a domino effect – one move leads to another.

“With the World Cup going on, there will be a lot of players out in Russia who are on the verge of a move.

“But they won’t get everything finalised until they come back.

“That’s when things will start to trickle down.

“But it doesn’t mean we are not working hard.

“You can still talk to players, sell yourself and sell the club as best you can.”