Ademeno staying put - for now

CHARLIE Ademeno is still a Crawley Town player after a dramatic conclusion to the January transfer window.

The Reds accepted a bid for their prize asset from an unnamed Football League club at 3pm on Monday, just two hours before the deadline.

But despite Ademeno agreeing terms with the club, the documentation could not be completed in time, with the buying club missing the 5pm cut off point by just three minutes.

However, the striker could still leave the Broadfield in the next few days, with reports coming out of the south coast that Southampton are set to sign the striker on loan until the end of the season with the view to a permanent deal.

Swindon Town boss Danny Wilson has also told BBC Radio Wiltshire that he is considering returning for the forward in the summer if he is still available.

Reds boss Steve Evans said he was delighted to have Ademeno available for Saturday's Blue Square Premier clash with Cambridge United, but admitted he did not know how much longer he would be able to hold onto the player.

He said: "Charlie and I had a long chat after the deal fell through and his and our focus is now on Cambridge.

"There is no doubt if he continues to play as he has done recently another door will open for him in due course.

"As a manager I am delighted Charlie is still here. He is a superb young talent and was much sought after in recent days but we stuck with our valuation that, in our opinion, is in line with his ability and potential."

Evans revealed the drama of deadline day, saying the sale went right down to the wire.

"I got into the office at 7.30am and I was pretty confident that one of the four clubs interested in him would have reached the target by the end of the day.

"But such are finances in football at the moment that it wasn't until 3pm that a written offer that met our valuation came in.

"We accepted it right away and Charlie started having talks with the club.

"But it isn't down to simply agreeing a salary as there are all sorts of other fees involved such as appearance incentives and relocation costs.

"It was all agreed by about 10 to five but the other club couldn't get the contract to the FA in time and I think the deal was three minutes too late."

However, one player who did leave the club was defender Chris Giles, who signed for Salisbury City after a poor run of injuries meant he was unable to keep his place in the side.

Evans is hopeful of securing two loan signings in the next week, however, the deals are dependent on him convincing the club's board that they still have a chance of making the play offs.

He said: "If I'm to have a realistic chance of getting these short deals then we need to get three points on Saturday. I've spoken to the players about joining but it all depends on us getting a result against Cambridge.

"The thing in our favour is that we still have to play most of the teams above us, most of them at the Broadfield."