Mike Williamson says he has had “conversations” with free agents as he weighs up possible additions to his Carlisle United squad.

The head coach has stressed that he will not rush into any signings.

He said the discussions were a case of “feeling each other out” as Carlisle debate whether to add to their injury-hit squad in the short-term.

Williamson has been deprived of a number of senior players recently, leaving him short of options in some positions.

He said it is important to approach the market of unattached players carefully but confirmed he had spoken to some free agents.

“I can't name names but I've had a couple of conversations,” he told the News & Star.

“Again, any signing is calculated risk but when it's in these moments and people are out of contract, it's a bit more of a risk in the calculations.

“We've just got to make sure we get the right people in. So, yes, we are looking.

“We're working extremely hard. We are down to our bare bones but we're not going to just go for anyone because we've got the likes of Callum Guy, Taylor Charters and Ethan Robson who are not far away.

“So, we've got a lot of quality to come back into the squad which we're looking forward to.”

Williamson has previously said that the fitness of free agents at this point in the campaign had to be a major consideration.

The Blues boss is exploring options at a time he is without Dylan McGeouch, Aaron Hayden, Daniel Adu-Adjei, Ben Williams, Jordan Jones and Georgie Kelly, with Guy and Charters having just returned to action this week and Terell Thomas away on international duty this weekend.

On the free agent “conversations,” the United head coach added: “It’s just [a case of] feeling each other out because, in these situations, many things have to factor and work and it's a bit more complicated than it is when the window's open.

“So we've got to just make sure we take our time and we won't rush into anything.”

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