Andrew Cook signing shows intent at Mansfield Town

Andrew Cook, from Walsall, signed for a reported fee of around £150,000 plus add-ons, joined on a two-year deal.

The signing of the goalscorer, who netted 18 goals last season for The Saddlers, shows real intent by the Stags, because there were other teams interested in taking the big man — but luckily for us he chose the Stags.

His stats speak for themselves. He has scored goals wherever he has been and was highly rated by clubs he was at previously.

You only have to look at the majority of Walsall fans’ reaction, as they were sad and frustrated that he had left because he was a stand-out performer for them last season in League One.

Cook started his career at Carlisle, but never managed to get into the first team, instead he was loaned out to Workington Town and Barrow, where he started to show his quality.

He also had a two-year spell with Grimsby, where he scored 14 goals in 73 appearances for the Mariners.

Cook then rejoined Barrow, in his fourth spell, where he was prolific, scoring 47 goals in 87 appearances.

Tranmere then made a move for the frontman, where he continued his prolific scoring, netting 49 goals in 83 appearances.

During that he was the top goalscorer in both his seasons at Prenton Park, as well as helping Tranmere achieve promotion back to the Football League.

Instead of staying with Tranmere, Cook opted to sign for Walsall, in League One on a two-year contract. Whilst with the Saddlers he notched up a total of 18 goals in 50 appearances,in all league and cup competitions.

At the time of writing, Dempster confirmed the other day we are on the lookout for another striker, who may not command a fee, which could mean either a free agent or a loan.

Either way, we should be finding out at the new start of next week, so be sure to keep up to date on social media as to who we will sign next.

Personally I am hoping for another experienced striker, if possible, but as long as they can improve what we have got then we can’t ask for anything more than that.

Although there are still areas that we need to strengthen, it is a step in the right direction, as our biggest downfall last season was not being able to kill games off.

Hopefully Cook can play a huge part for us next season and help fire the Stags to automatic promotion this time around. Also huge thanks goes out to the Radfords for backing Dempster and signing real quality.