Telford poised to seal Joel Dielna deal

The 26-year-old Frenchman, who has also played for Spanish club CD Gerena and Solihull Moors, figured for the Bucks in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Birmingham City Under-23s on Tuesday night.

Paperwork is due to be completed at training this evening and Smith said: "We are going to take Joel. He can play as a centre-half and on the left-hand side as well.

"We will be signing him at training and then he will be available for the Curzon Ashton game on Saturday. We are happy to be bringing him in."

Dielna's arrival comes at a good time as both skipper Luca Havern and Ben Bailey are suspended for the visit of Curzon Ashton, which left just Paul McCone as a recognised central defender.

Born in Paris, Dielna played for SM Caen from the age of 14 until he was 21. He then signed a one-year contract at Guingamp and went on to spend two years with Vannes OC in the third tier.

In 2014, he followed his older brother Claude, who is contracted at Sheffield Wednesday, to England. He played twice for the Tangerines, making his debut against Shrewsbury in the League Cup, and then moved to Gerena in the Spanish third tier.

Dielna last played for the Moors in the National League, signing in October and playing three times before the club announced his departure on Boxing Day.

Smith said: "He is a decent lad. He fits the bill and with him coming in that is six players we have managed to get in the last two weeks. We can let it gel now and hopefully get some points on the board."

The Bucks lost 1-0 to Blues at the New Bucks Head through a late goal from a trialist. The game gave Smith a chance to have an in-depth look at Eddie Jones, Lewis Hayden, Luke Higham, Henry Cameron and Tony Donaldson – who all joined last week.

"It was a good game and much better than having a normal training session," added Smith.