Chesterfield move to beat Northampton Town and Walsall to Burnley deal | OneFootball

Chesterfield have made a late play to land Burnley striker Michael Mellon in January

Chesterfield have made a late play to swoop in and sign young Burnley striker Michael Mellon on loan for the rest of the season.

That's according to Alan Nixon, who claims that the Spireites are hoping to tie up a deal at the last moment, when it seemed for all the world like the player would be heading elsewhere.

Chesterfield are looking for reinforcements to boost their League Two promotion hopes as they go in search of back-to-back promotions, an look to have identified Mellon as someone who could help them reach their goal.

Currently, the Spireites sit just outside of the play-off places, but such is the tight-knit nature of League Two at the moment, they're only three points shy of the automatic promotion places.

Chesterfield face stern competition to land Michael Mellon

Although Chesterfield have made a late move to land Mellon, his move to the club is by no means assured, as they face stiff competition to land the Burnley youngster.

Both Northampton Town and Walsall are keen on signing Mellon, and both currently rank above Chesterfield in the footballing pyramid - Northampton are a League One club, while Walsall are running away with League Two.

According to Nixon, though, Mellon was in attendance for their game against Bradford City at the weekend, though he'd have left disappointed after he watched his prospective new side fall to a 2-1 defeat at Valley Parade.

The one big thing Chesterfield seemingly do have working in their favour for this deal is Paul Cook's Burnley connections, as he spent part of his playing career at Turf Moor, which may seem small, but could prove key in any potential deal.

In fact, Mellon's dad, former Tranmere Rovers manager Micky Mellon, actually played with Cook at Burnley.

Michael Mellon is a proven League Two goalscorer

Competition for places is certainly at a premium in the Chesterfield front line, as the Spireites have the likes of Will Grigg, Kane Drummond and Paddy Madden to call upon if needed, all of whom have been prolific in their careers.

Mellon is a slightly different profile of player though, in the sense he's younger than each of those names, but he's still got bags of experience at this level.

Although his loan move to Stockport this season didn't work out, which is in part down to injury, Chesterfield fans shouldn't be deterred by his lack of football.

Mellon had a sensational first half of the season for Morecambe last term before he was recalled, rattling in 13 goals in just 22 League One games.