Town boss Paul Cook says he's added both youth and experience to his squad with his 11th and 12th signings of the summer as he closes in on numbers 13 and 14.

Aston Villa frontman Louie Barry, 18, has joined on loan from Aston Villa for the season, while 32-year-old forward Sone Aluko has signed a one-year deal with an option for another year having been a free agent after leaving Reading.

“Louie's had a meteoric career as a young man already,” Cook told the club site. “He’s an infectious character who wants to play football.

“Our job is to provide a platform for Louie to go along with his career. Hopefully, that can be in the team, scoring goals and lighting the game up for us like flair players are supposed to.

“We’re all really excited to work with Louie. We must remember his age and tender years no matter what everybody thinks of him.

“We’re delighted to sign Sone. He’s a player with a wealth of experience, playing for clubs as big as Rangers, Fulham and Hull City.

“He’s won promotions before. We feel the group of players we have is very young. Sone brings a wealth of experience to the club and to the team.”

Barry is available for tomorrow’s season opener at home to Morecambe, while Aluko will have to wait until Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie at home to Newport County for a chance to make his Town debut.

Michael Jacobs’s switch from Portsmouth is expected to confirmed over the weekend, while we understand Hayden Coulson's long-awaited loan switch from Middlesbrough should be completed early next week.

Photo: TWTD

yogiblue added 21:30 - Aug 6 What a squad we are building! COYB!
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DinDjarin added 22:18 - Aug 6 Buzzing for the season to start
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JCBLUE added 22:35 - Aug 6 Very optimistic for the season ahead!! How about 17 seconds applause on 17 minutes of every game in recognition of our new No 17 ………
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clive_baker added 00:06 - Aug 7 Clubs as big as Hull City? Nearly choked on my biscuit.
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