In the know

FULHAM are lining up Bournemouth winger Matt Ritchie with a view to making a move for him when the transfer window opens next month.

Fulham have been taking a close look at the 25-year-old, who started his career with home-town club Portsmouth, over the last month.

And they believe he could be the man to help them climb the Championship table as they look to put a nightmare first half of the season behind them.

Fulham have suffered a hangover from their relegation from the Premier League and are prepared to bring in a number of new faces next month.

Ritchie has been with Bournemouth since January 2013 when they paid Swindon Town £500,000 to secure his services.

He has continued to catch the eye for Bournemouth who are making a real charge for promotion to the top flight themselves under boss Eddie Howe.

It could be this reason why Fulham will find it tough to tempt Ritchie to swap the south coast for south-west London before the end of the season.

The Cherries now believe that Ritchie is worth around £4m and it could appear that Fulham are ready to give a substantial down payment.

Ritchie still has another two years to go on his contract and would appear to be in no hurry to make any rash decisions about his next career move. DERBY COUNTY are keeping tabs on Blackburn Rovers winger Ben Marshall, 23, with a view to making a move for him during the January transfer window.

Derby want to bolster their squad ahead of a promotion push but could face competition from Sheffield Wednesday. NOTTINGHAM FOREST’S transfer embargo has scuppered their hopes of landing highly-rated Plymouth Argyle striker Tyler Harvey.

Forest boss Stuart Pearce hoped to use the prize money from a betting company competition to fund a move for Harvey, 19.

Harvey has spent a week on trial, training with the Championship side’s development squad, and the Reds were planning a move next month.

But they have been forced to put it on hold after the Football League slapped an embargo on them, Leeds and Blackburn for breaching Financial Fair Play rules last season.