Brighton set to bid for Davies

HEADING for the exit? Latics striker Craig Davies could be a target for Brighton.

ATHLETIC striker Craig Davies has emerged as a transfer target for Coca-Cola League One rivals Brighton.

The Seagulls, who have made no secret of their need for extra firepower, have apparently been tracking the 23-year-old front man for several weeks.

And it is thought Brighton, who are battling to avoid relegation, could make a move for Davies before the transfer window shuts on Monday.

It is understood any move would be a permanent one for Davies, who didn’t even make Athletic’s 16-strong matchday squad for last night’s defeat at Scunthorpe (see Page 34).

Lewis Alessandra was preferred to Davies on the bench at Glanford Park, which suggests his future may be elsewhere.

Brighton are looking for a striker as they are resigned to losing Glenn Murray, a £300,000 capture from Rochdale 12 months ago.

Murray, whose wife is pregnant, hasn’t settled and is looking for a move back to the North West.

It sets up the intriguing prospect of a possible swop, though that may be ruled out on financial grounds with the Seagulls looking to recoup much of their outlay for the 25-year-old Murray.

A move for Davies would come as no surprise given the way he has slipped down the pecking order at Boundary Park.

He was signed for an undisclosed fee - thought to be £50,000 - when he joined from Italian club Verona just over 18 months ago.

Davies finished his debut season as Athletic’s 14-goal top scorer but has yet to find the net for them in the current campaign which has seen him loaned to Stockport for a two-month spell.

And it was his time at Edgeley Park, in which he scored six goals in 13 appearances, that alerted the Seagulls to his possible availability.

Brighton are believed to have watched Davies a number of times and could be about to follow that with a move later this week.

Manager John Sheridan is well blessed for strikers with Lee Hughes, Dean Windass, Lewis Alessandra and Chris O’Grady, who is on loan at Bradford, providing considerable options. Deane Smalley, currently playing wide right, can also play down the middle.

And it seems increasingly likely that Hughes will stay as potential suitors Doncaster have instead agreed a deal for Bristol City’s Steve Brooker.