The New Saints boss Scott Ruscoe hopes the club’s latest new signing and academy graduates will bolster his squad for the next season.

Saints secured the signature of 23-year-old forward Louis Robles last week from Bala Town, while academy graduate Lewis Rees signed his first professional contract with the club.

Despite his side not yet returning to training, Ruscoe has been busy looking to make additions to his team for the upcoming season.

He insisted he was pleased to have signed Robles on the back of such a successful season at Bala Town.

Ruscoe said: “He’s one we’ve been looking at for a while and obviously he’s had a very good first season in the Welsh Premier League with Bala.

“He’s scored plenty of goals and got lots of assists as well, and he’s a player with good grounding after spending time at Liverpool and Wigan when he was younger, so it’s an exciting signing for us.

“It gives us a lot of depth there as well with Kurtis Byrne leaving also.”

As well as new arrivals, there has been a departure in central midfielder Aeron Edwards who signed for Connah’s Quay Nomads last month.

But Ruscoe is keen to secure a like-for-like replacement for the former TNS man in his summer transfer dealings.

“If there’s a hole in the squad that’s been left by any players who are leaving, then we’ll replace it,” said the Saints boss.

“If we have players who can step in and replace those who have left, for example we have Danny Redmond and Ryan Brobbel in the attacking midfielder area, and the likes of Ben Clark who will hopefully be getting a run of games in the side.

“There are players there that are better than what other teams have, so we have to keep that in mind.

“We have got other transfer targets in mind, but we certainly won’t be rushing into anything.”

As well as new signings expected at Park Hall, youngsters including Rees and Ben Clark will be joining the first team for the upcoming season, and Ruscoe was full of praise for the two academy graduates.

He said: “Lewis is only 19 and has finished his studies, so he will be a first-year professional with us.

“He’ll be training with us everyday, and he is an exciting young player, good size, quick and left-footed, so he’s going to develop with us.

“Then we have Ben as well who is only 19 – he has experience playing in the Welsh Premier League and has trained with us for the last couple of years.

“It’s a good opportunity for them to both step up and show what they can do.

“It’s very pleasing to see lads coming through the youth system – we bring them in with the first team throughout the season and have a look to see if they can hold their own.

“Three players made their debuts last season, so I think it’s important to see if we can have our own homegrown talent.”

TNS, along with other JD Cymru Premier sides, are still awaiting permission to return to training amid the Covid-19 pandemic.