YORK City have agreed loan deals with a striker who was scoring goals in League One last season and a centre back.

Both recruits are described as “experienced” and are pencilled in to make their Minstermen debuts at Tranmere on Saturday.

The pair will be joined at Prenton Park by former City striker Jon Parkin, who re-signed for the club yesterday morning.

Bootham Crescent chief Gary Mills has not identified either player before pen is put to paper, but did confirm: “They will both bring quality and experience into the team.

“The striker is a goalscorer, who got goals in League One last season and the centre half knows this league. They are players who know what it takes to play in this division.

“They are coming in on loan initially, so that’s the starting point, but just getting them through the door is fantastic for me. I don’t know whether that will be the end in terms of bringing people in, because the chairman can only do so much and he’s been working hard, alongside me, to get things sorted.

“It’s maybe taken a bit longer than we anticipated or wanted and I honestly believe, if we could have got these two and Jon Parkin in before Tuesday night’s game, we would have beaten Guiseley.

“Sometimes, you bring players in because you cannot get others, but you still need somebody and that can create more problems. These three are definitely the right ones for us though.”

Mills also reasoned that the arrival of former Championship performer Parkin has led to a domino effect in terms of attracting other targets.

“We have started to show players that we have brought in certain people to do certain things and it has proven we want to move the club forward,” the City boss pointed out.

The Minstermen will face a third-placed Tranmere team who boast the National League’s highest average attendance of 4,780, but Mills has also been quick to underline his own club’s historical status in the game and feels a high-profile fixture might suit his team more than last weekend’s visit to Bromley that ended in a 3-0 defeat.

He said: “They are doing well and it’s a difficult place to go, but we will be stronger and, while people might say Tranmere are a big club at this level, so are we. They have fallen on difficult times and not been able to get out of the division for a couple of seasons, which we know all about at this football club.

“They have now got a chance to go top and we have got to make sure that doesn’t happen. Getting a result there would be a massive boost and, sometimes, playing Tranmere away can be a better game to play in than going to Bromley, where we didn’t do ourselves any favours.”

Teenage attacker Callum Rzonca, meanwhile, is expected to still be on bench duty in the Wirral despite scoring his first senior goal in spectacular style during Tuesday night’s 1-1 home draw with Guiseley.

Mills added: “Callum is learning the game, but he has pace and isn’t afraid to take people on. He’s good in tight situations as well and works hard.

“At the moment, I think he’s somebody we can bring on to give us something a bit different. I don’t believe he’s quite ready to start games week in, week out, but I’m bringing him off the bench, so he’s not far away and he will buzz off the players we’re bringing in and I think he’ll get better.”

Mills also faces a dilemma with Adriano Moke available again, having served a three-match suspension.

The former Glenn Hoddle Academy graduate will be hoping to secure one of the side’s central-midfield spots, filled by Sean Newton and Danny Holmes against Guiseley but, on Moke’s chances of an immediate recall, Mills explained: “I’ll have to make that decision and that’s what happens if you are out of the side through suspension of other reasons.

“I thought Sean and Danny did really well in there and won a lot of second balls. Mokes and Simon Lappin are totally different players and, without them, maybe you’re missing players that can create something, but you can’t play if you haven’t got the ball.”

Lappin (calf) and Danny Galbraith (heel) remain sidelined and hospital scans have revealed that Lanre Oyebanjo requires minor surgery on his knee problem and will be unavailable for another six weeks.

Birmingham City midfielder Charlie Cooper has also returned to the Championship club following the end of his month-long loan spell with Mills adding: “Charlie conducted himself superbly well for us and didn’t let himself down, but I just felt we needed to move on.”

Mills has, meanwhile, set his side a dual target of National League survival and reaching the FA Trophy final, ahead of the December 10 first round home tie against Worcester City.

He said: “I want to be one of the 18 clubs who will still be in this division next season because only two can go up and three of those teams in the top five will be in the same boat as us next season if we stay up. I also want to give the fans a bonus by getting to Wembley in the Trophy.”