Mansfield Town

Manager Paul Cox has revealed that he expects the paperwork which will see striker James Alabi join us on a one-month loan from Stoke City, to be completed today.

The teenage frontman has been training with our squad this week, but the Football League are yet to ratify the paperwork required to complete the deal.

“I’m hoping that all the paperwork will be completed by the close of play, today,” said our boss.

“It seems to have been an ongoing saga with James, but I’m hoping that he’ll be signed in time for the game at Southend of Friday.

“He’ll add quality [to our squad], as he’s a young professional at a Premier League club and he’s very similar to Matt Green in terms of what he does.

“He’s a good player, he’s scored a lot of goals at Under 21 and reserve team level, and I’m hoping he’ll do what we’ve been missing, which is put the ball in the back of the net.”

When asked about how the frontman came to his attention, Cox replied: “It was just through normal scouting and talking to people.

“I pop down to a number of Under 21 games to keep my eye on players, and he’s always stood out.

“I heard earlier in the season that he had turned down a number of clubs because he wanted to stay at Stoke City, so we didn’t think he was on our radar.

“So we’re happy that he’s with us. He’s trained well and looked the part in training, and hopefully he will give us extra competition for a place up front."

He added: “Like we did with the boy from Nottingham Forest (Jack Blake), we have got to make sure that we’re not throwing him in, without acclimatising him.

“But he’s very much in our plans for Friday’s game.”