PHIL Babb hopes he will soon have two new goalkeepers squabbling over the No.1 jersey.
The new Hayes & Yeading boss has made an offer to Louis Wells while also running the rule over Elvijs Putnins as he continues to revamp his squad in all departments.
Wells, 31, who spent the latter part of last season on loan at United is expected to make a decision about his future in the next 24 hours, while Babb hopes to tie up a deal with former QPR youth custodian Putnins when the Latvian returns from holiday.
“We’ve made Louis an offer and he has taken some time to think about it,” said Babb.
“He went up from this league with Dartford a couple of seasons ago and has the experience we are looking for – he ticks a lot of boxes.
“Elvijs has also been in and trained with us and we would hope to offer him something.”
Installing the keepers follows the signing of Szymon Sidorowicz late last week.
The experienced Pole made his name principally as a centre back, but Babb indicated he has other plans for the versatile player, with offers having been made to two more central defenders as he seeks a more watertight unit than last season.
“Szymon is a bit of everything really, a supreme athlete,” Babb added.
“I would not label him with the ‘jack of all trades master of none’ tag because he is a very good footballer who adjusts to different situations. I certainly won’t be using him at centre back unless there are injuries.
“There is no need for rocket science here as everyone can see the shortcomings last year in defence, so I am going to build a team from the front to the back.”
Whether Tom Cadmore will be part of the revamp is still under discussion, and Babb confirmed budget constraints mean last year’s leading scorer, Kudus Oyenuga, has already had to follow Sam Cox through the exit door.
He added: “I would like to have kept Kudus because there is no disputing his goal-scoring record, but finances mean I simply can’t; it is as black and white as that.
“At the end of the day the budget has been cut from last year and we have to cut our cloth accordingly.
“He and Sam Cox were two of our highest-paid performers and under this year’s budget I can bring in four players for that money.
“Tom [Cadmore] is another talented player, but taking finances into account, I have to ask myself if I can bring in players of a similar or better standard for less money.”
