Inthe know

BLACKPOOL are leading the race to land highly rated Dundalk midfielder Richie Towell, who was a target for boss Lee Clark when he was manager of Birmingham City.

Clark had Towell watched a number of times during his spell in charge at St Andrews, but was sacked before he could act upon the information.

He is now interested in signing the 23-year-old, who is attracting a lot of interest from rival Championship sides.

Dundalk, who are League of Ireland champions, have previously seen Towell have an unsuccessful trial with another Championship outfit Cardiff City.

They would like him to sign a new deal there, but Towell is interested in seeing what possibilities that there are for him across the Irish Sea.

Ipswich are another club who have been keeping tabs on his progress over the last few months.

Dublin-born Towell started his career at Celtic and had a loan spell with Hibs before returning to Ireland in December 2012.

He has won U21 honours for his country and was the PFAI Young Player of the Year in 2013. EVERTON have had scouts making reports on highly-rated Exeter City midfielder Matt Grimes in the last few weeks.

They fancy the England U20 international and Exeter know they wont be able to turn down a decent offer for the 19-year-old. FLEETWOOD are set to make a January move for Carlisle United’s highly-rated England U19 international Brad Potts.

Potts, who has been watched by a number of clubs, scored his sixth goal of the season for the Cumbrian side against Newport last weekend.

Fleetwood have already enquired about the 20-yearold, who has made his way through the Brunton Park youth ranks.

They are poised to enter the bidding, but will face plenty of competition.

Premier League strugglers Burnley have also had scouts watch Potts in action on a regular basis.

Carlisle are trying to keep hold of Potts until the end of the season at least, but Keith Curle accepts it is going to be a battle to retain his services.

Potts has already turned down a new contract and Carlisle could have to sell if they want to avoid a tribunal.