Gillingham boss Mark Stimson hopes to have sealed a permanent deal for Colchester striker Scott Vernon by the weekend.

Stimson was also on the hunt for a young Premier League defender this week as he aims to keep adding competition for places in his squad.

The Gills are facing a battle for survival in League 1 and Stimson believes that the more players he has at his disposal, the better.

He said: "We want that competition and the chairman said there is some money, so I am going to spend it. I want to stay in the league and there is nobody out there more than me that wants to stay in it.

"This is a great division with some great grounds. We worked so hard last year and we’re not just going to roll over and let people take that away from us. We’re going to fight for every point."

Stimson had originally talked of bringing in Vernon on a loan move but now has the funds to sign the forward permanently.

Any deal would need to be done by 5pm on Monday when the transfer window closes.

The Gills boss has inquired about Norwich’s experienced forward Jamie Cureton but admits that the out-of-favour Colchester frontman is the one he’s focused on getting.

"I would rather have the other man (Vernon) because that’s a longer term one," said Stimson. "If we could get him permanently, it would be brilliant."

Vernon’s possible arrival would mean competition for on-loan striker Rene Howe but he will take some shifting after impressing in his first two games.

Stimson said: "Rene has come in and given us a physical presence. He competes for the ball and has quality."