Walsall may find 'the next Dwight Yorke' on tour
Walsall headed off for their Caribbean tour today hoping to find the next Dwight Yorke as they began life after the loss of their strike force.
Jamie Paterson's sale to Nottingham Forest yesterday completed a grim week for Saddlers fans, as he joined Febian Brandy and Will Grigg through the exit door.
But manager Dean Smith put on a brave face as he began searching for replacements – which included an offer of an open trial for the best of Trinidad & Tobago's talent.
Smith, who has added three unidentified trialists to his party, will welcome five players from hosts Central FC to Walsall's training sessions during the week-long stay.
Neighbours Villa famously discovered Yorke on a similar trip in 1989 to launch the striker on his spectacular career.
And Smith was in bullish mood as he began planning for the new season without three players who provided more than 40 goals last term.
He said: "The season before that, those same players provided six – all the players who helped get them those goals are still with us.
"Players will come into the squad this season and be developed just as Grigg, Paterson and Brandy were. It's what we do.
"The money from Grigg and Paterson will be invested back into the football operation whether it is in adding first-team players, looking after the ones we have, building up the juniors – whatever we feel is right.
"Come the start of the season, I am confident we will again have a very competitive squad and we will target finishing higher than in 2013."
He added: "A number of Central FC's players will work with us. It will be good for the players and it will also be useful for us in terms of judging the standard of players on the islands.
"Who knows – maybe we will run into another Dwight Yorke."
The Saddlers will play three fixtures against a Tobago XI on Friday, Central FC on Sunday and a Pro League XI on Tuesday.