Sources: Portsmouth and Derby County race to sign Hartlepool star Luke Molyneux
Portsmouth and Derby County are in the race to sign Hartlepool player of the year Luke Molyneux, Football Insider understands.
The attacking midfielder, 24, is out of contract from next month and able to quit the League Two club on a free transfer.
A recruitment source has told Football Insider that Derby, Barnsley, Portsmouth & Hearts are all closely monitoring Molyneux’s situation.
As well as finishing top scorer with 12 goals, Molyneux took a clean sweep at the club’s end of season awards.
He won the Players Player of the Year, Goal of the Season and Fans Player of the Year.
The Englishman also chipped in with three assists as he made 55 appearances across all competitions for Hartlepool who finished in the bottom half of League Two.
Molyneux moved to Pools permanently in the summer of 2019 following his release by Sunderland after spending time on loan at Victoria Park previously.
He has now made 109 appearances across all competitions for the north-east club, scoring 17 times and providing three assists in that time.
Portsmouth may be able to steal a march on Derby for Molyneux’s signature as questions remain over the future of the Rams.
Chris Kirchner’s period of exclusivity expires on Saturday (14 May) as issues remain over the status Pride Park.
If that is resolved they will compete alongside Pompey and Barnsley in League One while Scottish side Hearts are set to enter the Europa League at the play-off stage.
If they do not progress they will go straight into the Europa Conference League group stage.
In other news, Portsmouth, MK Dons and QPR are racing to sign a 21-year-old.