David Artell says that Crewe Alexandra have to tap into ‘unrealised potential’ when it comes to singing players. With the Alex aiming to compete in League One against a number of big clubs, such as Sunderland, Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday and Bolton Wanderers, the boss says that we have to be clever in the market.

Crewe have already added the experienced Christopher Long to our ranks this summer and Artell and his staff are working on other potential targets to boost our squad in readiness for the pre-season.

Artell explained to the club’s official website: “We are simply not in the market for the likes of Mallik Wilks and Jonson Clarke-Harris. That is the calibre of centre forward that saw Hull and Peterborough promoted to the Championship.

“We have to find those players with unrealised potential. We have to tap into that and then it is up to the staff here to improve that player. That is what we do and that is what we aim to do with Chris (Long). He started at Everton, earned a move to Burnley in the Premier League, has played in the SPL, so we know how talented he is. Now it is up to us to get the best out of him.

“Chris is just another one of our signings, who we feel can improve here. We have managed to do that with Mika last season and Chris Porter would say that he is a better player after coming here at 33.

“I know that the staff here, Alex (Morris), Kenny (Lunt) and the Academy staff, are all here to deliver better footballers. “