Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth wants to add to his 11 summer signings, including a replacement for Sam Gale, who joined Barnsley

Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth hasn’t finished his summer signings yet.

The Gills boss has added 11 fresh faces to his squad ahead of the new campaign, which gets under way with a Carabao Cup tie at home to Luton this Saturday.

But the sale of Sam Gale to Barnsley at the end of last week means there’s a need for the Gills to add at least another defender to their ranks.

“There's one or two to come, definitely,” confirmed Ainsworth on Wednesday afternoon.

“We let 17 go in the end with Sam. We didn't let Sam go, Sam expressed an interest in the move and we made that happen.

“But the 16 probably that went out the door, we've replaced, I think, really well. But I do want a couple more.

“Plus, don't forget, we had four apprentices that we turned into professionals as well. Technically, there's 15 new faces in the first-team squad, so it's not far off (last year’s numbers).

“We'll see what's available. This is the time of year when one or two bargains or mind-blowing signings come up that you can't believe you've been offered.

“We're always on the market for that but the Sam Gale replacement is one that we have to do.”

Ainsworth has spoken about his two latest signings, defender Conor McManus from Brentford and teenage Millwall winger Sheldon Kendall, who joined on a season-long loan.

Gillingham paid an undisclosed fee to bring McManus to Priestfield on a permanent basis and Ainsworth admitted they were originally looking at a loan move.

“Conor was on the radar for quite a while,” said Ainsworth. “We obviously needed left-sided cover and a natural left-back, and Conor covers both of those. He's an absolute cracking lad and is going to fit in really well.

“There were a few others around there and then when we played