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Stockwood hopeful of ‘at least a couple of new faces’ at Grimsby Town during transfer window

Jason Stockwood is hopeful of some transfer activity for Grimsby Town this month which will be helped by David Artell’s implementation of a clear playing style.

The preparation work for this window started long before the new head coach walked through the door for the first time at Blundell Park, but since then, it has been about aligning potential options with what Artell requires of his players.

The 42-year-old’s main short-term responsibility has been trying to steady the ship and get some results straight away on the pitch with the current group, but in the background, he has been assessing each player and deciding where he needs to strengthen.

READ MORE: Where Grimsby Town may look to improve in January transfer window

Stockwood wants to believe that the preparation and timing of Artell’s appointment will give the club the best chance possible of getting the players they want through the door this month.

“We’ve been thinking about it for the last couple of months, even before David [Artell] got here,” said Stockwood to BBC Radio Humberside. “We made the appointment of David when we did because we wanted him to have a run of games where he could assess the squad.

“We want him to have the players that can play the way he wants to play or at least keep or add those that can get there over the next couple of months. I think David’s getting a clear view on that now so I hope there will be some activity.

“It’s not always in our domain to say that the players we want to get will come, but we’re hopeful of getting a couple of new faces in the building as a minimum, but again, that is up to David now.

“I spoke to David pre-New Year [about transfers] and I think a couple of conversations have been had but I don’t think there are any signings that are close at the moment.”

At this level of football, with incomings, there are usually outgoings at the same time to balance the books and keep the squad numbers tight enough so that every player has a chance of involvement in the second half of the campaign.

There are also 12 players currently involved with the first team who are out of contract in the summer, who could have offers to leave in this window or are negotiating a summer move with other teams. If and when those players leave are decisions to be made, and that could then affect incomings.

“It depends on what we want to bring in,” explained Stockwood. “We’ve got many expiring contracts in the summer, but if players feel as though there is a chance for them to move now then we won’t stand in their way.

“It’s a balancing act though, and we’d want to see if we can get the players we want to come in first before we think about moving others on. If players come to us saying they want to move on and would be leaving in the summer anyway, then we’re open to those conversations.

“[On contract renewals] You try to build a picture and have a sense of who would fit in next season’s squad, but there are two parties in those conversations and things can change radically in a short space of time. We are at least getting a clear sense of the type of team David wants to build and how he wants to play.”

Original story at https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/

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