Torquay United manager Paul Wotton said he had been tracking new striker Matt Jay for some time after the former Exeter City captain joined the Gulls from Colchester United on Thursday.

Torbay-born Jay came through the academy at City to captain the team as it won promotion to League One in 2022 - but left for Colchester the following year. Still only 28, he became Torquay ’s second signing of the day on Friday, when he signed a deal until 2027, following the arrival of another striker, Emmanuel Ilesanmi, who joined the club on a 28-day loan from Derby County.

For a club that has been operating with one striker in its squad, these are two big signings ahead of the home game against Hampton & Richmond tomorrow afternoon.

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“MJ is someone who I’ve known about for years,” said Wotton. “He brings a wealth of experience, and he has captained a League Two promotion-winning side. He’s obviously got tremendous qualities as a football player, and he adds huge value and experience to the squad.

“He’s a forward, we needed to sign some, and I can’t wait to get working with him. It’s been quite a long process, but we’ve finally got there, and I’m looking forward to seeing him playing in a Torquay shirt.”

Twenty-year-old ‘Manny’ Ilesanmi is a promising striker who has been scoring goals in Derby’s under-23s team this season following a couple of loan spells in the National League North.

“I’m looking forward to working with Manny,” said Wotton. “He’s an out-and-out centre forward. He’s different to what we have already so hopefully it all goes well for him.”

So that’s the good news. Now for the bad. There are doubts about three key players being fit for the Hampton game, and perhaps Tuesday night’s trip to Chippenham Town, too. Midfielder and captain Oscar Threlkeld came off with a muscle pull at half time in Torquay’s frustrating 2-2 draw at Slough Town on Tuesday night. Big-game defenders Jordan Dyer and Jay Foulston also came off in the second half with similar problems. But with the additions of Ilesanmi and Jay, at least the squad won’t be as squeezed as was previously feared.

Hampton are 10th in the National League South table and are a good side - one to be wary of, with an unbeaten home record to protect. Torquay are also on a 14-game unbeaten National South run, home and away, but dropped off the top of the table when they drew at Slough and Boreham Wood won 3-1 at home against Hampton.

“We love playing at home, the fans are immense,” said Wotton. “It’s a completely different proposition, when you are playing from home to away. We are looking forward to it and the game can’t come soon enough for us really.

“I think it is really important to stress that we are unbeaten in the league since October 26. That takes some doing, by the way. We are picking up points and we have also got a very good home record, and a huge part of that is the fans. We are frustrated from Tuesday night so we want a game, we want to play.”