Should we be worried?

Only four signings so far this summer, should we be worried about the lack of signings?
No, looking back Walsall hasn’t been known to do early signings. First of all, players are on or just coming back from holiday and trying to contact players in June could be troublesome even if the contact is through their agent and most managers would like to talk directly to the player to get a feeling of their interest.
Secondly, players, or their agents, are looking for the best contract and usually suggest to wait out for the contract offer with the highest wage. Players have no hurry to sign until close to the deadline, and they will always find a place to get some pre-season practice. Maybe a trail somewhere to get some playing time.

Even if Walsall is a former League One team, they will still be in the middle/lower mid of the pack when it comes to wage level. They won’t be the highest paying team in the league and will have to fight for players signatures. Walsall won’t be the first option, and that is why Walsall never get deals done in time for pre-season.

If Darrell Clarke has done his homework during the spring, he should have a long list of players he would like to sign, and it is up to him to use other tactics than high wages to persuade players to sign for the club. He must sell his idea and try and sell the club in the best way possible.

One thing is clear Clarke will have to work hard to get players in.
Maybe the sell of Andy Cook will bolster the wage budget some, but due to the undisclosed fee we can’t know how much money the transfer brought in and we don’t know how much of the transfer fee will go to the playing budget.