YORK City manager Martin Gray has declared himself happy with his striking options for next season after signing Macaulay Langstaff form Gateshead.

Langstaff will join fellow new attackers Jake Wright and Jordan Burrow, as well as last season’s 25-goal leading marksman Jon Parkin, rookie Alex Kempster and first-year professional Flynn McNaughton, in a front-line that Gray believes will give City greater all-round potency during the 2018/19 National League North campaign.

Aside from Parkin, only Amari Morgan-Smith, with five, managed to net more than two times from the ten recognised centre forwards that featured in last season’s squad.

Otherwise, Kempster and Michael Rankine both scored twice, Raul Correia, James Gray and Gary Martin mustered a goal apiece and teenagers Ryan Edmondson and Flynn McNaughton didn’t manage to hit the target.

Langstaff, himself, was without a goal in 21 outings last term at Gateshead and during a loan spell at National League North rivals Blyth Spartans, although he only started four of those matches.

He was also prolific in the Northern League first division with Billingham Synthonia, where 31 goals in 46 games persuaded Gateshead to offer him a one-and-a-half year deal in February 2017 and was previously on the books of Middlesbrough’s academy before starting out in senior football with Stockton Town.

Even though Spennymoor were also believed to be interested in Langstaff’s services, The Press understands that the 21-year-old attacker’s wage demands were not high either and a pleased Gray said: “We have recommendations from people who speak highly of him and Gateshead wanted to keep him, but they are going part-time and he wants to stay full-time, so it was a great opportunity to get him here.

“He’s been a bit of a late developer in the game, but he wants to see how far he can take his career so, hopefully, he can give us energy, desire and hunger and he’ll be a great part of the squad. I always want four or five forwards to challenge each other because it’s nice to turn around and see two or three on the bench that you can throw on to make a difference.

“It also gives you good options when you’re playing all the midweek games and shouldn’t leave you scratching around and seeing results affected when you lose somebody, like happened with big Jon at the end of last season.”

Langstaff’s arrival – the seventh this summer - is expected to complete City’s summer recruitment drive, with Gray adding: “If we started tomorrow, I would be delighted with what I have got.”