Wakefield Trinity owner Matt Ellis provides recruitment latest as he outlines marquee ambition

Trinity have made several eye-catching signings in their bid for an immediate return to Super League with Powell given a sizeable budget of £1.4million.

Wakefield convinced Jermaine McGillvary and Iain Thornley to drop down from the top flight to join their promotion push and paid a transfer fee to land prolific winger Lachlan Walmsley from Championship rivals Halifax Panthers.

Caleb Uele, Toby Boothroyd and Luke Bain have been recruited from overseas, while Luke Gale, Mason Lino and Max Jowitt are among the existing players committed to helping Trinity get back to Super League at the first attempt.

Wakefield will also benefit from a dual-registration partnership with Wigan Warriors that will enable Powell to use fringe members of Matt Peet's squad.

Trinity owner Matt Ellis is prepared to continue his winter spending spree – but only for a player that will complete the jigsaw.

"We're at £1.3m now so we've got around £100,000 available still," he told The Yorkshire Post.

"We've left something in there for the right opportunity or if we need someone during the season.

"If the right player came up, we'd go in now. We can also see what the Wigan partnership throws up because they've got such a strong squad.

"We're still one or two light in the middle unit. We've got some good players in there but they say you need 10 and I think we're at eight.

"We're happy with what we've got but are in the market. There's a bit left in the coffers.

"We've got to make sure it's a top player, potentially a £100,000 player that will step up with us."

Wakefield operated on a modest budget under the previous board and paid the price with their Super League status.

A fractured squad lost their first 14 games and improvements came too late to extend the club's 25-year stay in the top flight.

Ellis does not expect to encounter the same issues in 2024 after digging deep in their search for new recruits.

"We've managed to land all of our targets, bar one player," said Ellis. "He ended up re-signing with London because they went up and we moved on pretty quickly.

"Every other player could see what we're trying to do. Steve (Mills, recruitment manager) does all the background checks to see if they're going to fit in because Daryl doesn't want any bad eggs here.

"Some of the money I put in last season was to pay some players off to leave the club. When you're trying to stay in Super League, you don't want to have to put 30, 40, 50 grand aside to pay players off.

"To be fair to Mark (Applegarth, former coach) and Michael (Carter, former chief executive), there's a great vibe in the squad here. Daryl says it's the best group he's worked with – and he's been involved with some good Cas squads."

Ellis has wasted no time in putting his stamp on Trinity since acquiring the club at the end of last season.

As well as backing Powell in the recruitment market and assembling an experienced backroom team, the ambitious millionaire owner of DIY Kitchens is making further improvements to Wakefield's redeveloped Belle Vue home and has overseen impressive season ticket sales.

Should Trinity return to Super League in 2025, Ellis has pledged to make full use of the salary cap exemption for marquee players.

"If we get into Super League, we'll be looking at what the likes of Leeds and Wigan are spending and being around that mark," he added.

"We'll spend the £2.1m salary cap plus marquee players, so £2.3m. Then you're looking at Super League now to see where that puts you.

"I think in Daryl we've got one of the best coaches. If you've also got that playing budget as well, it would be nice to go top eight then top six and top four."

Wakefield appear to have a direct route back to the top flight after being given an initial ranking of 11th by IMG, with the prospect of a higher score next year.

Challenge Cup winners Leigh Leopards have shown what can be achieved following a rebuild in the Championship.

Ellis, however, does not want to compare Wakefield with the Leopards.

"Derek (Beaumont) has done a good job there – but I think we're bigger than Leigh," he said.

"I want us to have that mentality. It's going to be interesting what we can achieve.

"We're the favourites for the competition and I want us to travel like we're the biggest club in it.

"When they come here, let's make sure opposition teams are playing in front of 6,000-7,000 people.

"I saw Hull FC announce that they've sold 7,000 in Super League but we've done 5,000 in the Championship – and it's still 100 days until the start of the season.

"It's all very positive."