Gloucester City boss Lee Mansell has provided an update on his squad halfway through the January transfer window.
It has been a quiet window thus far for City however Mansell has stated his intentions to bring in more than one player before the end of the window.
With Ryan Galvin’s loan coming to an end last week, Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore stated that he would have been more than happy for the loan to have been extended. However, Mansell has revealed that despite the clubs best efforts Galvin will not be returning.
“I’ve been in contact with Sheffield Wednesday, they want Ryan to go up a level, which is fair enough, we thank them for loaning us Ryan for the first part of the season. He’s been an excellent addition for us,” stated Mansell.
“Ryan is disappointed, he didn’t want to leave, I’ve had contact with him as well, if there was something we could do we’d do it, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case now so that’s a position we’re actively looking for now.” He added.
Another departure was that of attacking midfielder Jordan Young who has joined National League South side Chippenham Town on loan. The decision wasn’t without its speculation with City crying out for an attacker to provide chances for Danny King and Ollie Hulbert, Young seemed like the natural candidate to be brought into the first team. Young has already settled in after scoring twice on his debut and being named in the league’s team of the week.
After the 0-0 draw with Boston United last Saturday, Mansell stated his intention to bring in a new signing within the week, however speaking to ParkLife Sport today, he admits the club haven’t been successful in doing so.
“At this moment in time, we’ve got no one. I spent the best part of two and a half days on the phone to football clubs, enquiring about different positions that I think we need strengthening, but the budget is very tight at the moment.
“Clubs have been reluctant to loan their players out because of COVID, and the severity of if they do get a covid outbreak. Obviously, we just had that ourselves. We’ve had a couple of knockbacks and a couple of maybes.
“We need to attract the kind of player that fits into our system, secondly be really good people and can they drive us where we need to go, not just this season but in the next season as well.”
With Galvin’s departure, Tom Harrison out with a broken foot and now Matt McClure added to the injury list with an unclear return date, City will be searching for a left back while also hoping to bolster the attack in the absence of McClure.
