Southend United boss Alan Little is close to securing the signature of an experienced midfielder - who he believes is the final piece of his Roots Hall jigsaw.

The Shrimpers have agreed an initial five-figure fee and personal terms with an experienced ball-winning central midfielder currently plying his trade in the north-west for a Second Division club.

However, Little does not want to name his target, who is in his mid-20s and has played more than 200 league games, until the deal is signed and sealed.

"I've been tracking this player all summer and I'm very close to bringing him to Roots Hall," explained Little yesterday.

"I don't want to name him until he is a Southend United player because he is a quality performer and I've put too much hard work into this deal to alert other clubs of his availability."

Little would confirm that the player was all set to travel south and arrive at Roots Hall within the next couple of days to complete the transaction.

However, he was not sure if he would be eligible for Blues' Third Division kick-off at home to Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.

"I've got no doubt in my mind that the player wants to come here, but he wants to have a look at the Southend area before signing on the dotted line," added Little.

"These things have to be done right. The player's got a wife and a young child to consider and he needs to make sure everything is right for his family before moving them down south.

"I'm confident he will be a Southend player by the end of this week, but we might not be able to get him registered in time for the Plymouth game.

"But that's not important, we proved we have got a good enough team to kick-off the season with when we beat Crystal Palace 4-0 at Roots Hall at the weekend.

"What is important is that we get him under contract and in our squad for what is going to be a long and hard campaign."

However, Little believes it will be well worth the long wait if he finally gets his man as he rates his target as one of the best midfielders in the lower divisions.

"This lad is top class, a real quality performer, and if we get him Southend's fans are in for a treat," added the Blues boss.

"He is a busy, gritty little midfield general who isn't afraid to put his foot in where it hurts and will plug up our gaps in the centre of the park.

"I first put in a cash offer for him eight weeks ago, which was knocked back and I feared the deal was dead at one time.

"But we've managed to resurrect the deal with help from our chief executive Peter Storrie, who has been handling the financial side of what have been hard negotiations."

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