Carlisle boss Paul Simpson has been turned down in his bid to sign Jonathan Forte.
Carlisle boss Paul Simpson has been turned down in his bid to bring Jonathan Forte to Brunton Park.The promising Sheffield United striker enjoyed a loan spell at Doncaster Rovers earlier in the season, netting an impressive four goals in just nine appearances.
Simpson had hoped to add Forte to his League Two promotion chasers but has been thwarted by Blades by Neil Warnock - who wants the player to stay in The Championship.
''He's a player we have kept an eye on and Russ (Carlisle's chief scout) was at the Sheffield United's Reserve game last night where Forte scored 4 goals,'' Simpson told the club's official website.
''I phoned Neil (Warnock) this morning but he has informed me that Jonathan will probably go on loan to another Championship side, so there is nothing we can do about that at the moment."
Meanwhile, Simpson has offered former Carlisle favourite Paul Murray the use of the club's facilities in his bid to return from a long-standing knee injury.
Murray, who started his career at Carlisle, is set to leave Portuguese outfit Beira-Mar and whilst Simpson insists he has no intention of making an immediate decision, he does admit that should the player prove his fitness then he would be interested.
''We have said he can come to do his rehab here and he would be welcome by all means,'' Simpson told the Cumbrian News. ''That is all there is to it at the moment.
''But if he could get himself back to the level he was at when he was fit then we would be interested - and the fact that we had helped him with his rehab would hopefully stand us in good stead.
''From what I know of him he was a tremendous player.''
In other news, Zigor Aranalde and Chris Billy are both to visit specialists as they look to get to the bottom of knee and Achilles injuries respectively.
