New arrivals represent small yet notable advance for Walsall

For the first time since they paid £4,000 to Chippenham Town for striker James Constable back in 2006, the Saddlers have stumped up fees, be it under the guise of compensation, to secure the deals. And they've now done it twice in the space of a fortnight.

MacGillivray, 21 and very highly-rated, needed to be prised away from Harrogate Town after having initially agreed to remain with the Conference North club for a further year.

Now striker Bradshaw, the same age, has been obtained despite the best efforts of Shrewsbury Town to keep him.

New Shrews boss Micky Mellon was keen for the former Wales under-21 international to form the focal point of his attack next season and the Shropshire club offered him a significantly improved deal.

But the pull of playing League One football and the chance to advance at the Saddlers proved too much and with he has moved to the Banks's after the clubs reached agreement on a compensation package.

Bradshaw immediately appears to match the player model sought by the Dean Smith-era Saddlers – young, hungry and with room to improve.

Smith saw the forward play three against his side last term, once during a reserve run out at Chasetown while the player was recovering from a knee injury which needs noting when assessing the bare statistics of his previous campaign. Even then, seven goals in 30 appearances for a team which struggled to hit the target was a not inconsiderable return.

The Saddlers boss will be confident of improving Bradshaw's game and those statistics. Both parties will also benefit from a full pre-season of work together and the length of the contract – two years – should also not be ignored.

Last year Craig Westcarr and Troy Hewitt were handed just one year deals while Milan Lalkovic arrived on loan. Bradshaw instead has time to define himself.

With James O'Connor having also been signed over the weekend, Smith has been able to make gains in what remains a significant summer rebuild before the squad returns for training. This has not always been the case in previous years and the manager will be pleased to have at least a few names signed up before a host of other players become free agents next week.

Bradshaw will certainly not be the last arrival on the forward line, with the Saddlers boss likely to want at least two more attackers over the course of the next few weeks.

But for Walsall the nature of his and MacGillivray's arrival represents a small yet notable advance.