TOM Killick wants Poole Town to hold on to Will Spetch despite a cash bid from Sutton United – but admits retaining his star defender may prove difficult.

Sutton, chasing promotion from Conference South, have tabled an offer for the under-contract Dolphins centre-half, understood to be between £5,000 and £7,000.

The 22-year-old trialled with several Football League clubs, including Cherries, this season before deciding to focus on matters at Tatnam after the January transfer window.

However, this latest interest in Poole’s top talent has potentially thrown Killick’s end of season promotion push into turmoil.

The Dolphins manager told the Daily Echo: “I am aware of the bid and it is currently being dealt with at board level.

“From my point of view, I don’t want to see him go, particularly at this stage of the season but there are other considerations involved and I expect us to know a bit more during the early part of next week.

“It is one of those dilemmas where we have to balance the best interests of both the club and the player, but the timing is pretty awful because any move will undoubtedly cause disruption to our aspirations.”

Meanwhile, Poole have secured the services of Cherries development squad defender Jonathan Muleba on a month-long loan deal.

The 18-year-old, who moved to Dean Court from Chelsea at the end of January, has been brought in predominantly as a right-back with Killick keen to stress he was not intended as a replacement for Spetch.

Killick added: “With us having three games a week for the rest of the season, we were always looking to bolster the squad.

“We were presented with the opportunity by Bournemouth and it would have been foolish not to take up the opportunity of signing a player with Jonathan’s background, albeit at a very young age.” 

Muleba could make his debut against Truro City tomorrow (3pm).