Workington Reds set for loan talks with Carlisle United

The Borough Park boss hopes to make the most of the relationship between the clubs.

And Fell hinted that he could offer opportunities to some of the young Blues players who had spells with Workington last season.

Sam Hetherington, Jake Allan and Aran Fitzpatrick all had positive half-season spells in west Cumbria with Josh O’Brien also having a shorter-lived stint with the Reds.

Fell said he discussed the subject with Paul Simpson at Saturday’s 0-0 pre-season draw and plans to revisit it once United are back from their training week at the University of St Andrews.

“I had a good chat with Paul,” Fell told the News & Star.

“They [Carlisle] are going away for a week or so, so I think they'll look at where they're at from a numbers perspective after that, and we'll see where we are, and if there's something that works for both parties, we'll do something.

Jake Allan, left, is another young United player who spent time on loan at Borough Park last season (Image: Ben Holmes)

“Obviously there were three players that came here last season, so they may be an option again.

“We need to see, in terms of our recruitment, whether or not that's going to fit what we want from a position perspective, but the relationship is good.

“Obviously we've got lots of personal relationships with the people [at Carlisle] as well, so all the better.”

Workington are still hoping to bring in new players ahead of their Northern Premier League Premier Division season.

That could include some of the trialists who have featured for Fell’s side in their early friendlies.

Former United defender Charlie Barnes and ex-Preston North End defender Tom Wilkinson are understood to have been two who started against Carlisle.

Others include the ex-United youth forward Romeo Park.

“Two that played [on Saturday] we’ve had around the club for a week or two [and] I think we’re very close to,” Fell said.

Charlie Barnes, right, is one of the players currently on trial with Workington (Image: Ben Holmes)

“We’ve had a bit of a chat with them and I would hope to have a decision on them by Tuesday or Wednesday – a couple of young defenders who I thought were excellent. They have come out of pro clubs, so I'm hopeful that we'll get them over the line.

“Recruitment-wise, I think we still want probably two or three on top of that. I think we still want a forward, I think we still want a midfield player, and then it'll depend on what we do.

“Josh Galloway played on the left [on Saturday], but was brought here to play on the right, but obviously we've got Greg [McCaragher] who does such a good job on the right, so do we need something else on the left?

“Ultimately, we've got to make sure we've got enough in reserve as well.

“From a defensive perspective we’ve got Steve Swinglehurst and Jordan Little, but we can't go into the season on two or three defenders.

“We've got to make sure we've got enough in reserve, and then it becomes competitive, which is exactly what you want in your squad.

“So we're still a little bit light. We'll use some of the younger players in the trial list again on Tuesday [in Reds’ next friendly at Penrith], just because Saturday took a lot out of us, and then we'll come back to being a little bit more familiar with our team on Saturday against Morecambe.”