Paolo ready to close the deal after trio of talks (From This Is Swindon Town FC)

SWINDON TOWN: Paolo ready to close the deal after trio of talks

5:30am Friday 8th June 2012 in nPower League Two By Sam Morshead

SWINDON are tantalisingly close to completing their first transfer business of the summer, if manager Paolo Di Canio is to be believed.

The Robins have been linked with several names since the end of the League Two season but no one has yet signed on to Di Canio’s revolution at the County Ground.

However, the Italian met with three players at SN1 yesterday and he has revealed that Town fans may not have to wait too long to discover the next names to be adorning the red shirts of their favoured club.

“We are close to someone that I met today. We’re very close, not even three days, someone to sign,” he said.

“They can think ‘Swindon: Best place, fantastic club, stronger board, the best manager. What do you want to improve as a footballer and to build the winning mentality?

“Obviously we are in contact with these players and I really think positively because the players that we will bring make me very happy.

“They are quality players and I am sure that they will make all the people around Swindon, the fans, very happy.”

Di Canio wants to secure the signatures of at least four players by the time he and his squad begin their pre-season schedule in July.

However, he accepted that it may take a little longer to assemble the group he believes is capable of claiming promotion from League One next term.

“Before the pre-season, which is very close, I think that if we can bring five players in the next 20 days we have a chance,” he said.

“If it’s not possible, four would be good because during the pre-season we still have plenty of time before 15 August.

“Obviously I would like to have all the players with me before but if we have the chance to bring five of the eight or nine that I would like to bring, it would be a perfect number.

Meanwhile, the Swindon boss dismissed reports linking him with moves for Charlton man Paul Hayes and Torquay midfielder Eunan O’Kane.

“Many names came out in the last few days,” he said.

“He (Hayes) is a good player but he is not, to be honest, our target at the moment. I don’t know in the future, now that you give me the information I’ll go to check, but he’s not on our list.

“O’Kane is a good player but we never asked him. There is not interest. He is a good player but not even at the moment or in the future because already in this position we have players - one very nearly to sign and one nearly to join.”