ROTHERHAM United striker Jerry Yates was top of Richie Wellens’ shortlist for new players this summer, ahead of missed targets Nicky Maynard and Danny Mayor.

Yates signed on a season-long loan deal from the Millers in mid-June, and made his Town bow in the first half of the 6-0 win over non-league outfit Brimscombe & Thrupp in Tuesday night’s first pre-season friendly.

The 22-year-old scored one goal, but missed the target several times when presented with relatively simple chances – opportunites that Swindon boss Wellens insists will be taken once the early pre-season cobwebs have been blown out.

Yates scored seven goals in his 29 outings while on loan at Carlisle United last season before he linked back up with parent club Rotherham for the concluding three months of their Championship campaign – where he made seven further appearances.

Now at SN1, Wellens wants to establish Yates as Town’s clinical goalscorer.

And with that in the mind, the Town boss would like to play two men up front with three central defenders, two attacking full-backs and three men in the middle.

Wellens said: “Jerry Yates was my number one target. He will be a proper player for us this season.

“He needs that bit of sharpness in his legs. If Tuesday’s game was played in a fortnight’s time, he probably would’ve scored five.

“His movement is brilliant, and he has settled in straight away. I’m happy with him.

“I’m going to play Kaiyne Woolery up front more this year – I still think I’m going to go with two up front.”

Yates and Kaiyne Woolery alone – with the option to also include Scott Twine and Keshi Anderson in attacking roles – isn’t sufficient enough for Wellens, though.

Consequently, he will continue to scan for a proven goalscorer in an effort to further boost his ranks.

But his search will avoid U23s games, with Wellens suggested young strikers aren’t proving their worth when being scouted.

He added: “We’re a bit light, but we’ll keep trying.

“It’s difficult with strikers because they hold on. They can attract the most money.

“We’ve watched U23s games, and there are good centre-backs and midfielders at that level. But there are no strikers.

“The seasoned professionals can hold on a bit longer, because there are no U23s pushing them and stealing money off them.

“It kills us, but that’s the way the market is.”