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Dario Gradi is ready to rival the likes of Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City and Tottenham for the signings of several lower league hot-shots. Gradi, however, did concede that it is unlikely that Crewe will be able to match the financial muscle of these teams as he aims to add quality to the squad.
Gradi revealed that the club "went to watch Halford at Colchester on Saturday." The right-back is widely tipped to be interesting Man Utd and Tottenham who are both believed to be weighing up whether or not to make an offer in January. However, Dario acknowledged that it may prove hard to compete with the bigger clubs, "he is interesting Manchester United and Chelsea" "so we're not going to buy him for £100,000 are we?. Dario also revealed his frustration at the asking price of Shrewsbury goalkeeper Joe Hart who, like Halford, is valued at £1m by their respective clubs. Hart is tipped by many pundits as the best prospect outside the Premiership, barring Theo Walcott, so Crewe fans are likely to be pleased that Gradi is watching such a high calibre of player and is finally acknowledging that there are indeed lower league players worth buying.
Dario did, however, announce that he continues to watch a more realistic target at Lincoln, "We've watched Lincoln since we played them in the cup and we're still looking at one there, so we really are looking for players." With Crewe believed to have ruled out Gareth McAuley as a potential signing, it is believed that Lee Beevers is the player who they continue to watch.
Meanwhile, Crewe are also watching a centre-back based in Cyprus and Linfield's prolific Northern Irish striker Peter Thompson. However, Linfield's asking price of £250,000 with add-ons may put Gradi off the youngster who, as yet, is untested in the English leagues.