Carlisle United step up goalkeeper search after loanee blow

The Reading loanee has fractured the scapula bone in his shoulder and will be out for about 13 to 14 weeks.

Teenager Gabe Breeze will act as Tomas Holy’s understudy in the game against Charlton Athletic on Saturday.

But Simpson, despite being knocked back by some targets recently, is eyeing other “experienced” free agents with a view to making a signing in the next week to ten days.

“We’re looking at February of next year with Jokull if everything goes to plan,” said Simpson of the loan man’s training ground injury.

“Ideally I want somebody experienced, that’s what we’re looking at.

“It’s difficult at the moment. With us having Tomas and Gabe, if anything was to happen to Tomas in a game, Gabe would go on, but because Gabe hasn’t played enough games we’d be able to bring an emergency loan in.

“But that can’t be a Premier League goalkeeper, it has to be lower than Premier League.

“On top of that you have a difficult situation in finding a club that will lend you a goalkeeper. Because as much as we’ve all got some good friends and contacts, they’re only going to do what’s right for their club and I respect that.

“We’re looking in the free agent market. I’ve made enquiries about three so far who’ve all said, ‘No, not even interested’.

“We’ve got a couple of others we’re looking at and working with. Again, it’s got to be the right ones.”

Breeze was always in line to be on the bench next Tuesday too in the game at Reading regardless of Andresson's fitness, with the Iceland international unable to face his parent club.

Simpson, meanwhile, is boosted by the return to fitness of Owen Moxon and Sean Maguire for Saturday’s game, which is the Blues’ first fixture under their new American owners, the Piatak family.

Midfielder Moxon has recovered from dead legs while forward Maguire is fit after a recent illness.

“They’re both fine,” added Simpson. “Mox did the rehab work at the end of last week then has trained all week with the group.

Owen Moxon, pictured, and Sean Maguire are fit to return to action on Saturday (Image: Ben Holmes)

“Sean Maguire came back in after missing the [Harrogate Town] game with the sickness bug – he came back in on the Thursday and Friday, we weren’t able to get anywhere to train Saturday, but he’s trained all week and they’re both back in the group now.”

Simpson also confirmed new signing Josh Emmanuel will be part of his thinking for Saturday’s squad.

He also said he was looking at “another couple of players” aside from the goalkeeping situation, with United now having more leeway to add to their squad after the takeover went through.

But he pledged that he would not simply blow the increased budget he was receiving from the Piataks.

“I don’t want to go spending all the money like a kid in a sweetshop straight away,” the manager said. “We have to make sure we’re ready for January. We’ve got targets we’re thinking about and they need to be a level of player who can go straight into the team.”

Simpson said he had been frustrated in certain other enquiries regarding free agents.

“I saw your list in the paper about different players who we could go for [a reference to THIS News & Star article] – I think there were probably four or five on that who I have actually spoken to,” he added.

“But they were like, ‘No, not interested, I want to wait until January, don’t want to go to League One’…whatever it might be.

“Some lads are training at clubs but not getting paid, some lads not training at clubs and haven’t been paid since July.

“It’s a real difficult situation to get them in. But when the right ones come along who we think are good enough and who want to come to us we’ll get them into the building.”