Paul Booth could have eased Maidstone’s striker shortage – but boss Jay Saunders doubts he would have returned to the Gallagher Stadium.

Prolific Booth has been on the move this week, joining Tunbridge Wells from Folkestone.

The veteran scored 42 goals in 61 starts for Invicta after leaving Maidstone last season and Saunders believes the 37-year-old is still good enough for the Ryman League Premier Division.

But Saunders said: “Boothy’s still quality and would do the job but I’m not sure it would have interested him. He wants to be settled somewhere and if he’d come back here it would have been a stop-gap because of his age.”

Stones are also unlikely to bring Jack Harris back from Ryman League Division 1 South title challengers Faversham this season.

Harris’ Maidstone contract was cancelled on the agreement they could re-sign him but Saunders doesn’t want the young striker to end up sitting on the sidelines once Jay May is over his hamstring injury.

Saunders said: “We had an agreement that Jack needed to get a season’s worth of football. It’s a possibility but if I pulled him back it might be that Jay is fit in two or three weeks and then Jack’s back in the same situation as he was before going to Faversham.”