Lee Grant: Walsall "still not close" in completing summer transfer rebuild

Lee Grant insists Walsall are still “not close” to completing their summer transfer business.

Walsall added two new faces on Tuesday with the loan signing of Wycombe Wanderers defender Declan Skura and the arrival of fellow centre-back Ryan Leak following a successful trial.

Both new recruits started as the Saddlers were condemned to a 5-0 home defeat against Premier League opponents Aston Villa.

And when asked about the business left to do, Grant outlined that there is still plenty of work ahead for Walsall on the recruitment front.

“We’re still not close” - Grant on Walsall transfer business

Grant said: “We’re still not there and we’re still not close. Again, if you just look at the numbers in terms of what has gone out compared to what has come in.

“We’re not there yet. The most important thing for us is bringing in players that can impact the group, impact the quality and have a real claim for being in the starting XI.

“We don’t want to bring bodies in for the sake of it. We want to bring good quality players in that can help us this year and that’s what we’re looking to do.”

Brian Madjo bagged a first half brace for the Villans, while fellow youngster George Hemmings also scored as the Europa League champions headed into the break with a 3-0 advantage.

“A bigger picture” - Grant reflects on Villa defeat

Luka Lynch added a fourth with a deflected effort in the second half, before Aidan Borland completed the rout moments later.

“It doesn’t mean we can’t be frustrated when things don’t go perfectly, or we come away from some really high standards that we set,” the Walsall head coach added.

“But absolutely we have to be mindful that we’re playing the European [Europa League] champions and they’ve got some exceptional talent.

“There’s a bigger picture than the result tonight and we’ve talked about that amongst other things as a group, but a worthwhile exercise for sure.”

Grant admitted to throwing Skura in at the deep end just 24 hours after arriving at the club.

But he felt that the 24-year-old grew into the contest and will benefit, like many of his teammates, from measuring himself up against such elite talent.

“I’m throwing Declan in at the deep end having been with us for all of 24 hours and asking him to play against some of the top talent in this country,” he concluded.

“Full credit to him and I think actually the longer the game went on, the better he got.

“It was a really good exercise for everyone in terms of measuring yourself up against really good players and really top intensity.”