Darlington are hoping the lure of playing for his home-town club might persuade Neil Maddison to turn down the chance of First Division football.

Quakers head the queue of clubs who want him but they face competition from several higher division outfits for the signature of the 31-year-old midfielder, who has been told he can leave the Riverside when his contract expires next month.

Manager Gary Bennett and chairman George Reynolds held talks with the Darlington-born player yesterday, but Stoke, Norwich City and Sheffield Wednesday are all believed to be in the running.

"We've made progress over the last couple of days," said Bennett. "We had a chat with him on Thursday and the chairman spoke with him today.

"He knows that we can't afford to pay the sort of wages he's on at Middlesbrough and that he'll have to take a drop. The more important thing from his point of view is that he'll be able to play football regularly again. He's only played about 50 times for Middlesbrough in four or five years.

"We're hoping we can put something together to entice him to sign for us.

"But it's not totally down to money. He wants to play for his home-town club and we've told him the direction the club is going in, and the part he'll play in that. He's gone away to think about the offer and he'll let us know his reply as soon as possible."

Quakers are also considering a move for former York City striker Barry Conlon, who has just finished the season on loan at Colchester.

They are hoping to hold talks with him next week, though the Second Division side have made him a contract offer.

Meanwhile, midfielder Mark Kilty had an operation yesterday on the cruciate ligament injury he picked up near the end of the season, but he's not expected back into action until around Christmas. Top scorer Glenn Naylor is due to have a similar operation next week and could be out until the New Year.

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