WANDERERS report back to Lostock for pre-season this morning looking to boost their recruitment plans in the process.
Players will report back in groups for fitness tests and heart screening before a full session with Phil Parkinson and the coaching team on Wednesday.
Among the group will be new signings Jason Lowe and Erhun Oztumer – but it is understood a couple of other new faces may also be added by the end of the week to supplement a squad which is still short on numbers.
Wanderers face St Mirren in their first pre-season friendly on July 7 and are expected to train up in Scotland for a few days before the game.
Parkinson will supplement his squad for the time being with some of the Under-23s players who impressed last season. Among them is striker Connor Hall, who scored 22 goals for David Lee’s side in 2017/18 and also made his first team debut in the FA Cup against Huddersfield Town.
Wanderers had already taken up a 12-month option on the 20-year-old former Sheffield United man after his impressive first term, but yesterday it was announced he had signed a new two-year deal, taking him all the way up to 2020.
“It gives me a little bit of time to set longer targets and try to achieve them,” he said. “Last season when I came in I wasn’t really sure what to expect. It was a new team, a new club and I’d been released by Sheffield United. My pre-season went alright but I didn’t think I was quite on my game. The season itself was great for my development and hopefully in this next two years I can kick on and do even more.”
Hall was taken on pre-season tour last year, featuring against Arbroath and Dundee, and feels the upcoming trip could give him an opportunity to stake a first team claim.
“There aren’t a lot of strikers in the building at the moment - just myself and Alfie (Adam Le Fondre) - so there could be places up for grabs. Hopefully I can do well in pre-season and get my name somewhere near the team-sheet.
“I like working with Alfie, he teaches me a lot.”
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