St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright will cast his eyes over several trialists this week as he seeks to build a squad capable of challenging on several fronts.
With Swansea’s Gwion Edwards back in the fold after completing a six-month loan deal with Saints, Wright will run the rule over New Zealand international Ian Hogg (23), former Rangers and Carlisle forward Rory Loy (25) and Ballymena striker Neil Lowry (19) over the coming days with the start of the competitive season just over a fortnight away.
Newcastle midfielder Mehdi Abeid (20) was also back at McDiarmid Park as Saints seek to tie up a deal for him, while fellow playmaker midfielder Stephen Hughes, released by Aberdeen in the summer, is expected to join training at the end of the week.
So Wright will have plenty of food for thought as he prepares for the new season, with spying missions on Saints’ potential Europa League opponents also lined up towards the end of the week.
“I’m hopeful over the next day or two we’ll be close to one or two signings,” Wright explained.
“We’re having a look at one or two people and hopefully that will speed up the process. Loans will be determined by who we sign and what we’ve got left in the budget.
“I want to target the loan market but I’m also mindful about having too many loan players. Sometimes it can’t be healthy having too many players who aren’t your own around the club.
“We’re looking carefully around that market but the main thing is we want to get players who want to come and want to play for St Johnstone.
“There are plenty of people wanting to come in and do trials but I think it’s important to do a bit of homework on them, because you don’t want to waste people’s time as well.
“It’s a wee bit cat and mouse because players are maybe holding out for a better offer somewhere else and that might not happen, and then they come back to you again, so it’s an ongoing process and a really busy time.”
New Zealand inter-national Hogg linked up with the squad at the tail end of last week and Wright appears keen on the left-sided player, who has six caps for his country and was on the books at US side Portland Timbers.
The Saints boss is also taking a look at Loy, who is a former Scotland under-21 international and clocked up around 50 games for Carlisle following his switch from Rangersin 2011, and highly-rated teenager Lowry, who previously had trials at Middlesbrough.
One player definitely signed up is Edwards, who has committed to a six-month loan from Swansea with the option for the full season in January, and Wright has challenged the Welshman to make his mark this term.
He added: “I’ve seen enough of him in training and the under-20 games to realise that he could be one who could start this season.
“He’s got good pace, he’s got a great attitude, he is improving the physical side of his game and what I like about him is that he works extremely hard as well.
“He’s young, he’s hungry and he’s enthusiastic nothing fazes him. The thing about young players is that there is no fear in them, and I want to try and bring in young players who have something to prove.
“Gwion will get the opportunity to do that.”
Wright also revealed that he is set to slap a deadline on Abeid’s possible return to Perth, stressing that he has a number of other options if the French-Algerian midfielder’s move doesn’t pan out.
“I need to draw a line on that because we can’t keep holding off and holding off,” he explained.
“Mehdi says he wants to come and he’s not been released at Newcastle. I’ve spoken to them over the weekend and explained our position, I’ve spoken to his agent and really we need an answer shortly from Mehdi because we want to get him in.
“If he does sign we want to get him up to speed for Europe. I spoke to Mehdi at the end of the season and over the summer, he knows what I think of him and he knows he’ll get an opportunity to come here and play.
“Whether that’s a loan deal or whether he gets his situation sorted out at Newcastle, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Wright will travel to Belfast on Thursday for the Europa League clash between Crusaders and Rosenborg, and plans to take in the Norwegians’ home game against Lillestrom on Sunday.