3 way chase for Dele, Owls in for McCarthy

Birmingham striker Dele Adebola is attracting close interest from Grimsby Town, Oldham Athletic and Peterborough. The Nigerian power-house is surplus to requirements at St Andrews and has been training with Oldham. Posh boss Barry Fry is looking for a new striker and worked with Adebola during his spell as the Blues boss. Grimsby interest comes as past of Paul Groves stepped up intetntion to find a striker to bolster his front line. Yesterday his plans were knocked back as Adam Proudlock opted for Notts Forest over the Forest. Meanwhile Andy Todd has extended his loan deal at Blundell Park till the end of the season.

Adebola's Birmingham team-mate John McCarthy could also be on the move following an offical inquiry from Sheffield Wednesday. McCarthy is out of contract in the summer and is unlikely to command any sort of fee. Speculation linking The Owls to Huddersfield striker Clyde Wijnhard has been rubbished by Terriers boss Lou Macari. Wijnhard has just returned from a nightmare injury spell followoing a car accident.

Gary Megson's attempts to find a replacement for the injured Jason Roberts have been dented. Megson attempted to sign Bruce Dyer from Barnsley with a fee of around £400,000 believed to have been on the table. Tykes boss Steve Parkin decided to keep the strong forward to help in Barnsley battle against relegation.

Portsmouth have announced the 16 players that have been told their futures lie elsewhere. New Chief Executive Peter Storrie annoucned the cuts as pary of plans to cut the huge wage bill at Fratton Park. Portsmouth have one of the biggest sqauds in Division 1. The players are as follows:Mladen Rudonja, Steve Lovell, Tom Curtis, Ulliano Courville, Scott Hiley, Ceri Hughes, Carl Tiler, Chris Tardif, Thomas Thogersen, Garry Brady, Ben Griffiths, Stefani Miglioranzi, Mike Panopoulos, Andy Petterson, Dave Waterman and Tom White. All are available on a free transfer except Mladen Rudonja, Steve Lovell and Tom Curtis.