Michael Appleton reveals Blackpool are keeping a close eye on the free agent market

The Seasiders have already brought in five new recruits this summer but remain on the lookout for “two or three” more.

Four of those new signings have come in on loan, while Dom Thomspon has arrived on a permanent deal from Brentford.

While all avenues are being kept open, Appleton dropped a major hint that the club will look to utilise the free agent market between now and the end of the transfer window.

“There are still a hell of a lot of players out there who are out of contract in the summer and still don’t have a club, we’re mindful of that,” he said.

“There’s a lot of players out there with hundreds of league games under their belt who are still looking for a new home. We’re aware of a few of them.

“If there’s an opportunity to bring someone of the same ilk as Richard Keogh then that’s something we’ll look to do.”

If the Seasiders do bring in a free agent, a potential concern would be their lack of game time and match sharpness.

Appleton concedes this could be an issue, but insists it wouldn’t necessarily stop him from signing an unattached player.

“Depending on the amount of contact time they’ve had with a ball and the training they’ve done, it could take four to six weeks (for them to be ready),” he said.

“What I would say is that type of person would have different roles to fill before then.

“We’ve spoken about Keesy moving on to Ipswich - if we do look to fill that void as a person it would be more to do with what he offered off the pitch rather than on the pitch in the early days.

“The squad is reasonably young so someone coming in who might need four to six weeks of training might be seen as a negative, but sometimes it can be seen as a positive because you get to have them off the pitch for as long as you need and they can integrate themselves into the squad and give the young players the opportunity to gain from their vast experience.”

According to Appleton, the Seasiders don’t currently have anyone in on trial but he hasn’t ruled out bringing someone in to train in the future.

“No, not at the moment, but it’s something we might do,” he added.

“I’m sure the majority of the clubs up and down the country are doing the same.

“Once we have a better understanding of what we can do, whether it’s permanent signings or loan signings before the window shuts, you’ve just got to keep an open mind.

“We have those conversations every single day so we know what we can and can’t do, it’s just about making sure we find the right people and the right players within our budget.”

The Seasiders are back in action this afternoon as they welcome Swansea City to Bloomfield Road.