"He's done enough to show that he's got the quality to step up" - Millington set to make his first signing of 2023 and hopes more will follow

The signing is expected to be announced later this week, and could be followed by a couple of others, also on permanent deals.

"There's one young player who we're just getting the paperwork together for, who is joining us from a lower level," Millington told the Courier.

"He's done enough to show that he's got the quality to step up.

"We've had the privilege of having him in training with us recently so not only have we seen what he's been able to contribute for his current club but also what he can offer to us up close and personal.

"So he'll come in and have to fight for a place in the starting 11, but he's an addition I'm hopeful will turn into a positive signing for the longer-term."

The Town boss said he is looking at making two more, preferably permanent, signings but added that they would be explored as loan signings if they could not be secured permanently.

"We've got a couple of options we're looking at and we're trying to nail down exactly what the deals would look like with their current clubs," Millington said.

"They're both comfortable at right-sided centre-half or at right-back and will give us a bit of depth to those two areas.

"There's another player over who we're trying to come to some agreement with who plays in a more advanced role, attacking midfield, number ten role, where we feel we could do with a bit more as well.

"The two shapes we've played this year have required good options in that advanced midfield role so we think this player will add value for us in that area of the pitch."

Halifax were keen to bring Stoke forward Will Goodwin to the club after the expiry of his loan at Torquay, with whom he scored seven goals in 26 matches this season.

But the striker chose to join League One side Cheltenham on a two-and-a-half year contract for an undisclosed fee.

"We'd enquired yeah, we'd showed interest," Millington said.

"We knew it was going to be a challenge because of the other clubs that were in (for him).

"We made the pitch, we gave them the outline of exactly what we felt we could offer as a club for young players coming through and the platform they'll get with a club like Halifax Town.

"Not only the platform but the opportunity we give, because lots of young players go into clubs and don't actually get given the chance to play particularly regularly, whereas we've got a track record of honouring that opportunity.

"We gave the player, his agent and Stoke City the outline of what we felt we could offer, but clearly there were much better financial offers and offers from higher up the pyramid which were more attractive."

Millington remains eager to bring in another striker though.

"Yeah, absolutely," he said. "We'd like another attacking player in the building if we can find one, but it's very important it's the right one because we've got a good number of forward players and we don't want to bring a player in who's just going to be sat on the bench or sat in the stands.

"If we bring somebody in in that area of the pitch, we want them to be coming in and playing regular games for us and contributing."

Meanwhile, defender Sam Minihan and winger Sam Smart have both been made available to other clubs.

"There's been a bit of interest but nothing solid just yet, but with Sam Smart we are talking to a club at the moment so there's some potential there," Millington said.

When asked if he is bracing himself for any bids for his star players now the January transfer window is open, Millington said: "You half expect it but until it actually comes we don't really worry about it too much.

"Of course we need to have a mind for how well covered we are in certain areas of the pitch and we need to make sure we protect the team for the longer term and that there are bodies who can come in and cover certain areas.

"But at the minute I'm not too concerned about that because I think all we're hearing at the moment is vague rumour, there's nothing substantial in any of it yet."

Several Town players are due to be out of contract this summer, and Millington says work is ongoing to try and tie some of them down to longer deals.

He said: "I've put my thoughts to the chairman about where we should go and how I believe it would be prudent to move forward to protect the foundation of the squad going forward.

"He's going through his processes to make sure that any commitment we make, we can honour financially.

"So the process is underway and it will be followed through in due course."

Read more from the Town boss in Thursday's Courier and on our website later this week.