Walsall boss Chris Hutchings is planning to take a longer look at trialist full-back Chris Stokes.
Young stopper impresses Saddlers boss
Walsall boss Chris Hutchings is planning to take a longer look at trialist full-back Chris Stokes.
The former Bolton stopper, who cancelled his trial at Crewe to join League One club Walsall on a similar basis, impressed during Saddlers' 4-0 defeat against Wolves.
Hutchings' defensive unit has been decimated by the departures of Jamie Vincent and Mark Hughes, leaving room for new additions.
And the former Wigan manager says he was pleased with how 19-year-old Stokes adjusted to taking on Premier League opposition.
Impressed
"We've brought in Chris Stokes, who was released by Bolton at the end of last season, so we will have a look at him in the next week or so," Hutchings told
skysports.com.
"But we have obviously lost Jamie Vincent, who wanted to move down south, Mark Hughes, who had an opportunity to go to Australia and wanted to pursue that, so we allowed them to move on, despite both being signed to the club.
"That was disappointing, mainly the timing of it really, but we've moved on and our scouting network is continuing to find new targets so that we can recover from such setbacks.
"Stokes played 20 minutes against Wolves, but we need to see a lot more of him really before making a decision, so we will use the Aston Villa and Coventry games to assess him.
"He acquitted himself very well against Wolves though and showed that he can settle in very quickly in difficult circumstances and against a very good side."
