NEW signings Richard Pacquette and James Meredith have been targeted by York City manager Martin Foyle for the last two years.

Striker Pacquette, 26, fired Havant and Waterlooville in front at Anfield during a 5-2 FA Cup fourth round defeat in January 2008 and, aside from a brief loan spell with Histon, spent last season at Blue Square South outfit Maidenhead United.

Australian Meredith – a 21-year-old left-back – also played semi-professional football at City’s FA Trophy semi-final opponents Telford last season while on loan from League Two side Shrewsbury, who released him at the end of the campaign.

Ending a busy week at Bootham Crescent, Foyle has handed on-loan midfielder Levi Mackin a permanent deal for next season too following his release by Wrexham, taking the list of summer signings to five following the arrivals of Andy Ferrell and Craig Nelthorpe from Kidderminster and Oxford respectively.

About the addition of Dominican international and former QPR forward Pacquette, Foyle said: “I’ve done well with strikers in the past and I saw something in him two years ago, as well as the next season and the one just gone when I was doing a bit of scouting.

“He’s strong and can hold the ball up, which we were poor at doing last season. He could be our link man because we need to retain possession better in the final third.

“His cousin is Jefferson Louis, who I worked with at Wrexham last year and he went on to have a good season for them.”

Foyle is also delighted to have landed former Derby County full-back Meredith and is relishing pairing him with the adventurous Nelthorpe down the left flank.

The City chief added: “I’ve had my eye on James for a couple of years as well, going back to when he first went to Shrewsbury. He’s a very attack-minded, left-footed full-back with pace who can play the ball out from the back, which is what we want.

“This season, last season and the one before, all the teams that have gone up have played football. That’s what I want to do but, last season, we were fighting the elements.

“I’ve been chasing James and Craig for a while because we haven’t been attacking down that left side. Liam Shepherd was a bit unlucky not to get more chances, but Craig has a bit more experience.” At the age of 21, Pacquette scored at Bootham Crescent for Mansfield during a 2-1 away win back in February 2004 as the Minstermen headed for the Football League trapdoor. He was also a member of the visiting Havant side that dumped City out of the FA Cup in November 2007.

Born in Paddington, he spent four years at QPR, but has since had a nomadic career with City becoming his 13th club.

The 5ft 11in forward made his Rangers debut as a Championship substitute at the age of 18, partnering future England striker Peter Crouch during a 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield in 2001.

He went on to score seven goals in 41 appearances for the Hoops and played in the 1-0 2003 League One play-off final defeat against Cardiff at the Millennium Stadium.

During his Loftus Road career, Pacquette was also loaned out to Stevenage, where he managed four goals and two red cards in an eventful nine-game stay, Dagenham and Mansfield before eventually leaving for MK Dons in September 2004.

He found first-team opportunities limited there, however, and moved on to Brentford and Farnborough before returning to Stevenage again at the end of the season.

Over the past three years, Pacquette has played for St Albans, Worthing, Thurrock and Havant, but spent the majority of last season with Maidenhead.

He also scored on his debut for Dominica during a surprise 1-1 World Cup qualifier draw against Barbados in February 2008.

Meredith played for City’s reserves back in January 2007 after being taken on trial by his former Derby County coach Billy McEwan.

Born in Albury, New South Wales, he was the Rams’ Academy Player of the Year in 2005 and was handed a two-year professional deal 12 months later.

He never broke into the first team, though, and was loaned out to Chesterfield and Cambridge.

A brief spell in Ireland with Sligo Rovers followed, along with trials at Stoke City and 1860 Munich, before he signed a one-and-a-half year contract with Shrewsbury.

Last summer, however, new Shrews boss Paul Simpson indicated Meredith was not part of his immediate plans and he spent most of the season on loan to Blue Square North promotion contenders AFC Telford, playing in both Trophy ties against the Minstermen.