FIRST Division Crewe Alexandra are ready to step up their interest in Clarets striker Andy Cooke.

I understand Dario Gradi is ready to table a bid for Cooke after the Alex boss transfer-listed want-away striker Dele Adebola on Friday.

It looks certain that Adebola will leave Gresty Road with a host of Premiership clubs chasing his signature - and Gradi has made Cooke his number one target.

Crewe assistant Neil Baker told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph last week that Burnley had blocked a Crewe bid in August, but now Alex are on the verge of making a second offer.

And if the price is right - believed to be in the region of £500,000 - that could persuade Burnley to sell.

A reliable Crewe source said: "There could be movement before the FA Cup this weekend and certain things have happened behind the scenes. "It all depends on a couple of factors but the manager (Gradi) is a great admirer of Andy Cooke.

"He was very close to signing him when the player was at Newtown, but he just missed out when Jimmy Mullen signed him."

Any deal, of course, would depend on whether Waddle is prepared to gamble and sacrifice Cooke in a bid to raise desperately needed finance.

Waddle has already asked Manchester City about taking loan forward Gerry Creaney for a further month.

But Burnley's precarious financial situation could preclude a permanent deal for the 27-year-old striker - unless Waddle can raise the cash.

Cooke could only make the substitutes' bench in Saturday's derby defeat at the hands of Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

And he has already expressed his growing frustration at a lack of first team opportunities this season.

Meanwhile, assistant manager Glenn Roeder was fuming after Burnley were denied two clear cut penalty appeals.

Roeder blasted: "The referee cost us the game and we are not at all happy with his decisions.

"We thought we played well enough as the away side in a derby match to have got a point from the game, especially after taking the lead.

"We gave a good performance but we didn't have any fortune at all."

Previous sport story

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.