Crawley may still try to strengthen their squad in the run-up to their league opener despite missing out on Lee Tomlin.

Boss Steve Evans thought he had finally tied up a club record £200,000 deal for the midfielder after watching him score twice in a friendly against West Brom last week.

But League One Peterborough stepped in and Tomlin joined them for £250,000 from Rushden in time for him to make his Posh debut as a second-half substitute in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Bristol Rovers.

Had Tomlin signed it would have taken Reds’ spending in the last week to nearly £350,000 and the funds are clearly there should boss Steve Evans switch to different targets ahead of Saturday’s Blue Square Bet premier opener against Grimsby Town.

One possible option is former Ipswich and Cambridge United schemer Jai Reason who was Reds’ best player as they suffered their only pre-season defeat at Bromley on Saturday where a 26th-minute penalty from ex-Crawley striker Nic McDonnell condemned them to a 1-0 defeat.