Bristol Rovers are expected to complete the signing of Brentford goalkeeper Matthew Cox on a season-long loan as well as a Bees teammate of the England U20 shot-stopper.
The 20-year-old is due for a medical at the Quarters today whilst Bristol Live understand that a second signing from the Premier League club will be a centre-back and is also expected to be confirmed imminently.
Earlier on Monday, Joey Barton revealed to his Twitter subscribers that he expects the club to be busy over the coming days with the 2023/24 League One season less than a fortnight away.
Going into his third season in charge at the Memorial Stadium, Barton revealed earlier this month that he would be setting up a subscription service on Twitter, now rebranded as 'X,' to 'unlock the mind of a maverick.'
In a post exclusively for subscribers, the Englishman wrote: "Expecting @Official_BRFC to do 2 signings in the next 24 hours and hopefully 4 before Chesterfield game on Saturday."
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The arrival of a new goalkeeper will certainly lead to enquiries from Gas supporters as to what the future holds for current shot-stoppers James Belshaw and Jed Ward.
The former’s mistake against Braga, as he passed the ball directly to an opposition attacker, was an untimely error for him whilst 19-year-old Ward could well depart the Mem on loan following the arrival of a fellow young goalkeeper.
The Gas previously failed in their approach for Connor Ripley earlier in the summer, as the former Morecambe number one signed for Port Vale.
Adding to his squad's defence has been a major priority for Barton after Rovers conceded 73 goals in League One last term.
Maritimo defender Goncalo Cardoso played the second half of Rovers' friendly against Braga on Saturday having trained with the club in the Algarve whilst Teo Kurturan was an unused substitute despite having featured in other friendlies for the Gas during pre-season.
Former Everton midfielder Tom Davies also trained with Rovers last week but won't be signing for the club having played 19 Premier League matches last term. Barton also confirmed this as part of his subscription service, which will cost fans £4.92 a month to join.
The club have made four signings thus far this summer with James Wilson, Jevani Brown, George Friend and Luke Thomas arriving on free transfers from Plymouth Argyle, Exeter City, Birmingham City and Barnsley respectively.
Although the addition of Wilson, who won the League One title with Plymouth last season, is seen as a major coup, adding to the defence has been a major priority and even more centre-backs could arrive before the transfer window closes on September 1.
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In Friend, Rovers have a player capable of playing as a central defender, although the recent arrival predominantly plays as a left-back. The same applies for youngster Luca Hoole who is known as a right-back but can cover centrally if required.
Further reinforcements at the other end of the pitch are also expected after the Gas were beaten by league rivals Charlton Athletic to the signing of former Cheltenham Town forward Alfie May.
With just two more friendlies against Swansea City and Chesterfield left in the schedule, Rovers' first match of the season at Portsmouth on August 5 is fast approaching and there's no doubt that Barton will be increasingly keen to add bodies to his squad in time for the new campaign.
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