Steve Evans’ summer shopping spree hasn’t ended yet.

The Gillingham boss was left with only a handful of professionals at the start of pre-season and that’s meant a busy time for the club, making 10 signings so far.

There’s been eight permanent additions and two loan arrivals from Arsenal over the summer and Evans hopes to add another three before their league season gets underway next weekend.

Evans said: “We are looking positive and we probably have two or three more bits of business that we have to do, just to take us to the basic 19/20 players.

“Because we lost so many players we were down to low numbers and so it seems a lot of signings.

“The chairman has been wholly supportive and got one or two in that I possibly didn’t think we would, and we have done it all within financial structure within the dressing room that means there are no individuals sitting there aloof to everyone else, which was important to me.”

Evans has room for three more loan signings in his squad for the new season ahead - taking it to the maximum five for a matchday squad - but permanent deals are also still being considered.

“We do get really good value from our loans,” Evans said.

“We get exciting young players that need to come here and adapt to men’s football. We had that with Alfie Jones and Tommy O’Connor (on loan from Southampton last season).

“We are in a good position and the important factor is that the next three signings are the right signings to get the squad some nice balance.

“I hope they will be in for Hull (next weekend) but sometimes we are at the end of a call waiting for the bigger clubs to ring us.

“With the three that we are interested in, two of them are loans who are currently training with their first teams. It’s down to their management team decide if they can be released and we have to be patient. We will be continue to be patient up to a level but if we don’t get the preferred ones we have second preferred ones.

“The good thing is players have indicated they want to come and representatives have said it would be good for their players but we have to get the senior managers to sanction it.”

Evans is still unsure over the future of striker Brandon Hanlan, with League 1 rivals Portsmouth reportedly interested. As of Tuesday no official offer had been made, however.

Hanlan, who is out of contract and considering a new offer from Gillingham, could sign for any other club without a fee being agreed.

But buying clubs would then be at the mercy of a transfer tribunal, an independent panel of experts who would set an unpfront fee, one which would need to be paid in full and within seven days, rather than paying over instalments, something that is likely to put most clubs off going down that route.

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