SWINDON Town manager Richie Wellens says his fifth loan player is likely to be a striker despite midfielder Adam May seeing his time at the club end prematurely this week.

The Portsmouth man only made 11 appearances in his brief spell at Town as fierce competition pushed the 22-year-old – who had signed on a season-long loan – to the back of the talented central midfielder queue at the County Ground.

And with opportunities to feature more often still not arising as a deepening injury crisis appeared at Town, the club decided to send May back to Kenny Jacket for the second half of the season in order to free up a valuable loan slot.

With Steven Benda, Jerry Yates, Diallang Jaiyesimi and Rarmani Edmonds-Green filling the four loan places at present, another front man was deemed the most worthwhile option to Wellens with two weeks of the transfer window remaining.

He said: “Adam May has gone back to Portsmouth, and we wish Adam all the best, but that brings our loan players down to four.

“We’re trying to get another body in before Saturday, but I would imagine that will probably be next week.

“We’re waiting on a couple of calls to come back, but I would imagine the last loan will probably be a striker because if we get an injury to Jerry Yates, our out-and-out goal scorers are few and far between.

“Whether we get an extra loan in like we had, we’ll see how the next couple of games go.”

Will Grigg is currently the most likely striker to pitch up at the County Ground, though a deal for Eoin Doyle to return on permanent terms is not understood to be out of the question either.

And while the Town manager is keen to add to his striking options before 11pm on January 31, Wellens said he will not be rushed into picking up the first name on the shelf.

The 39-year-old says he will stick with his preferred method of waiting for the right player to become available – one that fits into his style and is not too expensive.

He said: “At the moment, clubs are waiting to offload their players to get as much money as possible.

“With the players that the clubs don’t want, it gets to the last week in January and clubs start paying them up – then they become available on permanent deals.

“We just need to be a little bit patient, but I’m happy because these three games have given us a bit of breathing space in terms of not needing to rush to get people in.

“I’ve always said I’d prefer to get the right ones in rather than get players in quickly.

“At the moment, the cheaper players are the ones that are available on loan.”