Town boss Adam Lakeland says he would still like to bring in another four or five players to his squad.
The Halifax manager has already signed five new faces since being appointed, with Cody Johnson, Dylan Crowe, AJ Warburton, David Kawa and Will Hugill all appearing in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Bradford Park Avenue in the first warm-up game of pre-season.
“I’d say we probably need another four or five, but we will likely have to look at maybe one or two going the other way as well because we can’t just keep bringing lads in without making room,” Lakeland told the Courier.
“We’re in a position where we need to continue to strengthen, there’s areas where we certainly need to bring bodies in – centre-back, left-back and I think still at centre-forward.
“They’re the priority areas for us but obviously we’ve got 22 lads now I think in the squad, and if we were go and bring in another four, that’s quite a big squad for us to carry.
“Albeit that that would include lads who are going to be out for half the season, so there might be one or two outgoings, whether that’s loan or permanently, we’ll just have to wait and see.
“But first and foremost, we need to try and get a few more players in the building before we maybe look at ones going out.”
When asked if there had been any interest in any of his current players, Lakeland said: “There’s been one or two gentle, soft enquiries about the availability of one or two of our lads.
“But nothing too concrete.”
Lakeland says a deal for a new striker is on the verge of being completed, but there were no other imminent arrivals.
“We’re in negotiations with several but I wouldn’t say there’s anything on the brink of being done,” he said.
Lakeland says the club is continuing to monitor Luca Thomas’ immediate future, with the former Halifax loanee currently training with an EFL side, but there will be no Shay return for another ex-loanee Daniel Nkrumah.
“He’s one who has obviously been mentioned to us because of the previous connection, but he’s not one we’re actively seeking,” Lakeland said.
On Saturday’s draw at Bradford Park Avenue, Lakeland said: “It was a typical first pre-season game really, a bit scrappy and a bit sloppy from our perspective.
“We didn’t really manage to control the ball well enough or control the game well enough, certainly in the first 25 minutes.
“We conceded a disappointing first goal, but then second-half I felt we were better in terms of our in-possession play, we scored a good goal.
“The main thing is you want to get the minutes into the players, it’s a good opportunity for us to have a look at some of the lads who we’ve got in training with us, see what they can offer.
“You’re trying to get all the players up to speed, and you want to try and come through it unscathed, which outside of the injury to David Kawa, we managed to do.
“So, plenty of positives to take, lots of learning and I’m sure that we’ll get better game by game for having that run in us.”
David Kawa was forced off in the first-half when he sustained a dislocated elbow.
“There’s no fracture, which is good,” Lakeland said. “He went to hospital and they managed to get it back in, and he’s been in for a scan.
“So hopefully it’s something we’ll be able to manage and rehab as opposed to him needing surgery, but we’ll have to wait and see.
“At an estimate, you’re probably looking at two to six weeks, if we can rehab it.
“If it’s the surgey route, then you’re looking at probably two to six months, so let’s hope that the gods are on our side on that one.”
Striker Zak Emmerson missed the game with a knee injury.
“He’s just suffered a little bit of a setback so he’s probably going to be another couple of weeks before he’s back and training properly,” said the Halifax boss.
Also absent on Saturday was Jamie Cooke.
“He’s absolutely fine,” Lakeland said, “we just didn’t want to put him into it too soon, but he will be getting some minutes tomorrow.”
Town now face back-to-back behind-closed-doors games on Tuesday and Saturday before visiting Clitheroe on Tuesday, July 15.
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