Stockport County latest: Burnley agreement, Nick Powell concern, Macauley Southam-Hales update | OneFootball

FLW rounds up all the latest news coming out of Edgeley Park

Preparations are well underway at Edgeley Park for Stockport County's return to League One after 14 years away.

A flurry of transfer action was added to this week as the club are away in Spain for pre-season training, bringing in some necessary firepower.

The European trip has also brought news of the progress of fan favourite Macauley Southam-Hales after a bitter setback last season, but it seems like it won't bring an end to injury fears throughout the rest of the squad.

Here, Football League World take you through the latest County headlines...

Stockport land Burnley loanee Michael Mellon

Before the announcement of Michael Mellon's season-long loan to County from Burnley, the only department that had not been strengthened was striker, following the departure of club captain Paddy Madden at the end of his contract this summer.

It was difficult to poke holes in the Hatters' recruitment on account of some of the exciting deals they have managed to pull off so far, but whispered fears of a lack of goalscoring reinforcements were growing. They only grew louder when a pre-season friendly against National League outfit Oldham Athletic kept a clean sheet against Dave Challinor's charges.

The club moved quickly to address the issue, the answer coincidentally arriving in the form of Oldham manager Micky Mellon's son, Michael.

The 20-year-old has risen through the ranks at Burnley and is now searching for first-team minutes. His second temporary spell at Morecambe showed what he could be capable of; 13 goals and one assist in 22 League Two appearances.

Whether he can recreate that form in the league above remains to be seen, but there is no doubt that he arrives as an exciting prospect.

Nick Powell sidelined with injury

The Hatters' pre-season trip to Pinatar, Spain, has exposed some injury fears within the squad, with questions raised about those who haven't travelled.

One player who hadn't been spotted on social media or by fans on the ground was last summer's marquee signing, Nick Powell. It was later revealed by journalist Sam Byrne that he believes Powell to be one of the injured players who hasn't made the trip.

That follows news last week that Tanto Olaofe, new signing Jay Mingi and Ryan Rydel - who missed the majority of last season - are all currently carrying injuries of varying severity, but the timescale placed on the trio seems to suggest that they should all be back in contention around the beginning of the season.

It will provoke bad memories for County fans, who last season saw their team limp towards the League Two title at times with a skeleton squad, making Challinor's triumph even more notable.

Happily, there is some relief to be had on the injury front for County, as the club released an interview clip of Macauley Southam-Hales on the pre-season tour in Pinatar.

He is not expected to feature in the friendly there against Derby County, but the club revealed he is back training on grass.

Asked how far along in his recovery he is by club media, Southam-Hales said: "I want to say ahead of schedule, but I won't really know until we tick some certain boxes off. But, at the minute, we're quite ahead of schedule. But I don't want to say too much, just in case I hit a hurdle along the way."

The Welshman is nearing the end of a rotten spell of luck, which saw him suffer a ruptured patella tendon last season, ruling him out for six to nine months, just two games after returning from a shorter spell on the sidelines, following a longer-term absence in the previous campaign.

The 28-year-old has remained a fan favourite throughout and the Hatters are eagerly anticipating his return. His seven assists in the league last season put him in the top three assist providers at the club for the campaign, despite missing over half of it through injury.