Cambridge United head coach Garry Monk opens up on ‘competition’ in transfer market for new striker

Cambridge United have made two signings in the past 48 hours, taking the tally of summer arrivals to 11.

But while attacking midfielder Josh Stokes and left wing-back Emmanuel Longelo are both exciting additions that will provide some much needed competition in their respective positions, there still remains one glaring omission within the squad.

Strikers Shayne Lavery and Ryan Loft joined the U’s relatively early during the window, but it was notable that when the club released its squad numbers earlier this month, the nine shirt remained vacant.

It is a question that has been put to head coach Garry Monk for a number of weeks now – any progress on the signing of a new striker? To his credit, Monk has never hidden his desire to bring in at least one more forward before the window closes – and given that it must a source of great frustration for him to be short in the most crucial area of the pitch, he has always tackled the subject with good grace during his media duties.

It was the same story today when he opened up on how tough the process has been.

“It’s the same most seasons – and probably this one more than ever – it’s the hardest position to recruit. Everyone is after strikers and the competition we face is difficult,” he said.

“We’re trying to work – as we have from the very beginning – smartly and we’ve missed out on a couple that we thought were over the line or really close. Unfortunately that’s how competitive it is because everyone is looking for them.

“And the knock-on effect of that is that some clubs aren’t ready to release or some don’t want to release because they’re not sure where their squads are at right now. There’s quite a few in the same boat, but unfortunately that’s not good for us.

“The guys behind the scenes are working really hard and hopefully we’ll have a solution to that (soon). We’re all trying to work to the best solution as quickly as we can.”

Monk has also been adamant all summer that he is not in the market to sign just any player – someone that may fill a gap in the short term but would not be right for the club in the bigger picture.

However, with the transfer window set to close on 30 August, time is now running out for deals to be completed. It is a stage where desperation could easily take hold, but Monk is determined to stay true to his values.

He added: “That’s (signing the right player) what I’m focused on but if it comes to the wire of course you have to make considerations and adapt.

“But I want to be clear, it has to be someone that can really help us and not someone interim.

“That’s important and not just for myself, but for the group and the players. And also for the player that comes in.

“We’ve tried to make the right decisions all the way through this with the right intentions and the right end product that we want out of it.

“I’m hopeful that it can be what we want, but we’ll see as the window goes on.”