Richie Wellens has described the signing of Adam May on-loan as a ‘no-brainer’ despite his aim of securing permanent signings early on.
May became Town’s second piece of summer business following the permanent acquisition of full-back Tyler Reid last week.
Wellens had previously stated his intention to use the loan market later on in the summer window but said that capturing a player of May’s calibre this early in the window was an opportunity too good to refuse.
“He’s a very good footballer – really clever. He’s got a terrific range of passing – short or long – he’s very accurate. He gives us a different dimension.
“I didn’t think last year we had too many that could play those expensive passes so when we overload in a certain area of the pitch to then play into midfield to play, quickly to the opposite side with precision and pace on the pass, stretching the opposition. I think Adam will help with that.
“Even though I wanted to do permanents, this was a no-brainer. We had to get this done because there was quite a few clubs lurking and we didn’t want to leave it hanging. I’m quite surprised that Portsmouth have let him go but it shows the quality of their squad that they can afford to do that.”
May, a 21-year-old midfielder, has been on the club’s radar for a while and his performance in a behind-closed-doors friendly during the 2018/19 season was the first time the Swindon boss cast eyes on him in the flesh.
“I’ve seen him five or six times myself and Noel Hunt speaks very highly of him from when he was at Portsmouth.
“We actually played a behind-closed-doors friendly against them and Adam was the one that really ran the game – ever since that game he was on our radar.”
The 39-year-old manager says the relationships that May will form during pre-season will be vital in how effective he will be in his midfield position.
“He’s a really good footballer and I’m looking forward to seeing him integrate with the squad – looking forward to the pre-season games and seeing the relationships he can form because he’s the type of player that can knit things together.
“It’s important he gets those relationships with his strikers and his full-backs and to do that quite early.”
