Crawley boss Dean Saunders has revealed that new signings John Cofie and Kelly Youga are playing for “peanuts”.

Former Charlton defender Youga and ex-Manchester United striker Cofie are in line to make their debuts at home to Gillingham tomorrow after joining Reds on short-term contracts in a bid to resurrect their careers.

Cofie has not played a competitive game for more than two years after an unsuccessful spell in Norway while Youga, who completed his move to the Checkatrade.com Stadium yesterday, had been without a club after playing in China last season.

Saunders said: “To be fair to the boys they have signed for next to nothing because they just want the chance to prove themselves. They were both free agents and are desperate to show they deserve another chance in English football.

“Whatever I had offered them they would probably have taken it but now they have eight games to show what they can do. If they do well then they have got a chance of winning a contract next season either here or somewhere else.

“My options are limited because of the budget I’m working with but we’ve got two players in who have good pedigrees to strengthen the squad without spending much money.”

Youga, a left-back with six caps for Central African Republic, made 71 appearances for Charlton but his career has been on the slide since leaving the Valley four years ago with unsuccessful spells at Yeovil, Ipswich and AFC Wimbledon before joining Chinese second division outfit Qingdao Hainiu.

Saunders added: “Kelly played a lot for Charlton in the Championship so will give us another option in case anything happens to Ryan Dickson or Sonny Bradley. He is strong and aggressive but he’s also good on the ball.”

Reds could also be boosted by the return of defender Dean Leacock for the first time since Boxing Day but midfielders Connor Henderson and Josh Simpson remains sidelined and striker Dean Morgan is on international duty with Montserrat.

Goalkeeper Lewis Price will be assessed today after being concussed in the 1-0 victory over Orient last Saturday with Brian Jensen on standby to start his first game for 11 weeks.