Chester FC manager Jon McCarthy is getting closer to making his first capture of the summer and expects that deal to be the trigger for further new faces.

The Blues are the sole National League club not to have completed a signing since the end of the season but while some fans are becoming impatient, the ex-Northern Ireland international insists there is no cause for panic.

McCarthy has 11 players signed up already, nine from last season along with youth team graduates Kieran Evans and Matty Waters, and this week offered deals to two experienced defenders, a full-back and a centre-half.

He is now waiting for answers from his targets, both of whom played for clubs who finished in the top-10 of the division last term.

"We’ve spoken to two defenders and made them both offers, and if they were to accept then we will bring them straight in," said McCarthy, who remains hopeful Johnny Hunt will agree a new deal when he returns from holiday and is awaiting a final answer from Ryan Higgins.

Johnny Hunt has been offered a new contract after making 49 appearances last season
Johnny Hunt has been offered a new contract after making 49 appearances last season

"We’ve got a schedule of three or four targets for each position that Sharpy (assistant manager Ian Sharps) and I have been working through and these two are at the top of that but if it doesn’t happen we move onto the next one on our list.

"Getting the defence right for next season is important so we want to get that sorted first and then we’ll know what we’ve got left for elsewhere.

"We know we need someone up front and there’s money in the budget for a couple of forwards, including a striker at the top of our range.

"That’s such an important position that we need to get it right and we’re not going to dive into that one.

"We’ve got a couple of targets that have made contact with but we’ve got a lot of faith in James Alabi and Kane Richards too so it needs to be the right kind of player because we don’t want to block their development.

Jon McCarthy plans to bring in two new forwards but doesn't want to risk slowing the progress of James Alabi and Kane Richards
Jon McCarthy plans to bring in two new forwards but doesn't want to risk slowing the progress of James Alabi and Kane Richards

"I’m confident and we’re in a good position. There’s a lot happening and a lot of conversations going on, and I think once we get that first one over the line then that will be the trigger for a couple more."

McCarthy, who confirmed he did make a tentative approach to ex-Rochdale forward Nyal Bell about a return to the club before he agreed a two-year deal at Gateshead, has an agreement in place to bring in a goalkeeper on loan from the Football League.

But that deal cannot be announced until the shot-stopper’s registration with his parent club had been completed, which is expected to happen on July 1.