Youngster Sam Fishburn's performances for Lancaster City have caught eye of clubs higher up the football pyramid

Philosophical Mark Fell admits young striker Sam Fishburn has performed too well since joining Lancaster City on loan last month.
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The 17-year-old forward is set to be recalled by his parent club Carlisle United after Saturday’s NPL Premier Division clash against Ashton United at Giant Axe.

Fishburn has struck eight goals in just a handful of appearances for City which has made a few ears prick higher up the football pyramid.

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It is likely the youngster will be loaned out to a team in the NL North or even the National League to continue his development.

Sam Fishburn in action for Lancaster City (photo:Tony North)Sam Fishburn in action for Lancaster City (photo:Tony North)
Sam Fishburn in action for Lancaster City (photo:Tony North)

While accepting that this sort of scenario could always happen, Fell admitted it is a big blow to lose a player who has been such a significant source of goals over the past month.

“He has done too well,” said Fell. “He has alerted clubs in the division above us with his performances and even the league above that.

“We probably could have done with him only scoring half the amount of goals but still keeping the same results.

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“Anybody who comes in and scores goals like that in quick succession, they are going to turn heads. You can totally understand it from Carlisle’s perspective.

“They want to see if he can cope at that level of football and it’s a good measure for them of his progress.

“But for us though it does not help at all. It’s not ideal.

“He’s got eight goals for us and is the league’s leading goalscorer so we are having someone like that taken off us and he’s had such a good impact for us.”

Fell revealed he is making moves in the transfer market to negate the loss of Fishburn and also to ease the impact of City’s current injury list.

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A bid to sign an academy player from Leeds United last week fell through but the City boss is hopeful of getting one or two signings done.

“We have got a couple of offers on the table for a couple of players,” said Fell.

“But it’s tricky because we are not in a financial position like most other clubs in our league.

“Some lads are expecting two, three, four hundred pounds per week to play as a striker in this league.

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“They won’t be getting that from us, so we’ve got to try to find the right kind of player.

“We have thrown a few inquiries out there and identified a couple of different players from other clubs.

“We started that process last week and as of yet, we haven’t been able to get anything over the line. We are trying though.”

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