Over the summer like many clubs up and down the country, Southend had a number of players on trial to see whether or not they would be a good fit for the club.

The Shrimpers are now without manager Kevin Bond after he resigned from his position and his assistant Gary Waddock has now taken temporary charge.

Had the trial periods had taken place during more competitive games, the Blues could have potentially had a better start to their season.

With Southend now currently sitting 22nd in the League One table with only one point to their name, we take a look at some of the linked players they could have signed:

Isaac Buckley Ricketts

The former Manchester City youth showed signs of promise in the three games he played while on trial with the Shrimpers over the summer.

The 21-year old has so far had very little chance to impress during his career after loan spells with FC Twente and Oxford United didn’t result in any permanent moves.

Ricketts eventually switched to Peterborough in the summer of 2018 but failed to break into a team that was full of upcoming talent, and he now finds himself without a club after he was eventually released by the Posh at the start of September.

With Southend's financial difficulties being in the limelight once again, perhaps the Blues could not afford the asking price Peterborough were asking for at the time.

Olly Lee

The central midfielder publicly expressed his deserve to make the loan switch to Southend over the summer but for unknown reasons the deal fell through.

The 28-year-old has since joined Gillingham on loan from Hearts until January and has made an impressive start so far for the Gills.

In his three appearances so far in League One Lee has netted twice while also providing assist to another.

Lee’s creativity in midfield could have helped a struggling Southend side find their form at the start of the season and with the midfielder having been so keen to join the Essex based side it’s hard to picture why the deal didn’t come about.

Corey Jordan

Bournemouth under-21 defender Jordan came on trial with the Blues thanks to Bond’s connections with Eddie Howe.

Jordan impressed while on pre-season with the club, scoring in his first start against Billericay Town while also doing well to dismiss a number of attacks from the opposition.

The Shrimpers eventually opted for a permanent switch in the form of Joe Shaughnessy at centre-back but with the way the Blues have been letting goals in this season makes you wonder whether they made the right switch.