Buckle only has two fit strikers at Plainmoor

Torquay boss Paul Buckle has said he is still interested in signing Crawley Town striker Charles Ademeno on loan.

Buckle missed out on a deal for the the 21-year-old by just two minutes when the transfer window shut on Monday.

And with just two strikers available to him at present, Buckle said the Ademeno deal is not over quite yet.

"There's still a chance," he told BBC Radio Devon. "The player wanted to come to us which was very encouraging but it comes down to the money."

He added: "You speak to the agent and you agree something with Crawley, but we didn't get it through in time."

Ademeno joined Crawley Town last summer after being released by Southend United and has scored eight goals this season, including a hat-trick in the first six minutes against Grays.

The need for extra firepower for Torquay is all the more pressing following the sale of Tim Sills to Stevenage last month, coupled with Scott Rendell breaking his arm against Bradford last Saturday.

This leaves the Gulls with Elliot Benyon and Chris Zebroski as their only fit forwards.

However, Buckle revealed that his shortage of strikers has not been through a want of trying.

"We've worked tirelessly to try and add young players to the squad but we've not managed to bring anybody in apart from the young boy from Leicester [Lathaniel Rowe-Turner]," he said.

"But that's where we are you know, we've been priced out - everywhere we've gone we've been priced out."

"There's been lots of players available and I've gone for a lot of players but there's a price that we can pay, we can't pay a big premium for players and we've missed out time and time again."

The club that agreed terms, and two others, have come on and they're trying to do something as we speak Crawley boss Steve Evans

Crawley boss Steve Evans thinks Ademeno could leave soon, despite the striker saying he might stay until the end of the season.

He told BBC Sussex: "He could go. There's a number of clubs that have spoken to us since the end of the window.

"The club that agreed terms, and two others, have come on and they're trying to do something as we speak.

"Can they do it? Who knows? I thought he would have gone on deadline day. I hope he's still leading the line for us against Chester on the final day.

"But it will be taken out of my hands should things develop."

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