Gillingham manager not looking for more after Connor Mahoney is the League 2 club’s eighth signing of the summer transfer window
Published: 05:00, 28 August 2023
Manager Neil Harris says Gillingham’s summer transfer business is complete.
Winger Connor Mahoney made his debut at the weekend, following his loan signing from Huddersfield Town, becoming the eighth senior player to sign on during the August transfer window.
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Mahoney was the “last bit of the jigsaw” according to the Gills boss, who hopes he is now equipped with a team that can challenge for a top-seven place in League 2 this season.
Newcomer Mahoney follows the arrival of Jonny Williams, Max Clark, Shad Ogie, Scott Malone, Ashley Nadesan and Macauley Bonne on permanent deals, with defender Conor Masterson also agreeing to stay on after two successful loan spells.
Harris is delighted with the recruitment they’ve done this summer.
“That is us done,” said the manager. “Our thought process as a football club is that we’ve done our business, in and out, we will stick at that.
“If something has to adjust over the next seven days we will pick it up as we go but as far as I am concerned, I understand as a football club we have brought in some really good players and I’m really pleased with the balance of the squad. I don’t expect us to be fortunate enough to bring anyone else in.”
The summer transfer window officially closes at 11pm on Friday, September 1 and doesn’t open again until January.
“I am really pleased (with the squad),” Harris said. “That might sound crazy, after a defeat (to Colchester on Saturday), but I am still really happy.
“We have 12 points from five games, we have lost our home record already. You don’t want to lose at home at any stage of the season, we have lost that, but we have a magnificent return and we have to park that one now, look forward to Tuesday (away at Luton Town in the Carabao Cup) and bounce back next week (in the league) at Grimsby.”
Harris said he wasn’t looking to find additional cover for striker Oli Hawkins, who is currently out with a foot injury. Fellow forward Lewis Walker is also missing but Macauley Bonne’s recent arrival has given them extra options up top.
Mahoney’s arrival on loan will also help in the short term to cover for Dom Jefferies, who is missing with a hamstring injury. George Lapslie has also picked up a knock.
Harris’ latest signing Mahoney went straight into the starting eleven on Saturday and looked the business early on.
The manager said: “He is a flair player and I have talked about a lack of creativity at times.
“We certainly lost set-piece delivery with Alex MacDonald (leaving this summer). We saw a couple of balls into the box from Connor, set-piece-wise, that shows his quality and that is a huge factor in League 2. It was important to bring that into the group.
“He has got that one-v-one ability that we saw at times. He is a lad who has not played a lot of football in the last couple of years so getting that 87 minutes into him would have been really good for him.
“We left him for as long as we could. To get to 87 minutes is a real positive.
“Connor gives us flexibility, gives us one-v-one ability and real quality in possession of the football. We saw glimpses but there is a lot more to come from him.”
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Luke Cawdell