Brewers could hang on to Walsall trialist

The Czech defender is amongst a host of players currently being assessed by Walsall manager Dean Keates and played in the friendly win over Ajax on Thursday.

Egert signed a short-term deal with Burton last season and made three appearances in the Championship.

He was then offered the chance to return for pre-season training, with a view to signing permanently.

But Clough has confirmed a deal for Egert now depends on finances – despite the defender being expected to feature for the Brewers against Villa today.

“We’ve got to make a decision on Tomas,” Clough said.

“A lot of these things will come down to finances.

“When you’re in the Championship, you can afford to carry a bigger squad.

“But it’s going to be a tight squad this season.

“Tomas impressed us last season and he’s done well this pre-season, so it will purely come down to, if we are going to take him as cover, can we afford to do that?”

Meanwhile, the Express & Star understands Bolton defender Adam Mitchell is the mystery centre-back who featured for the Saddlers in the win against Ajax.

The New Zealand international, whose mother is Croatian, impressed in youth football in his homeland before being spotted by Red Star Belgrade.

Mitchell had a number of loans while with Serbian giants before joining Bolton where he impressed for their under-23 side.

But while he is still training with the Championship side, he is available on a free transfer.