Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley tight-lipped on potential loan swoop for Blackpool winger

Alan Nixon revealed Cowley is a big admirer of the former Crewe Alexandra man and previously attempted to sign the 23-year-old last year.

The Gazette understands Pompey’s interest is genuine and a deal looks to be on the cards.

When asked about Dale by our sister paper, the Portsmouth News, Cowley said: “We get linked with a lot of players, for us it’s always to talk more about our players and no other peoples.

“Owen Dale was bought by Blackpool last season for a significant sum of money, so I wouldn't anticipate him being available the following season.”

While not mentioning Dale’s name, Cowley did admit Pompey were close to signing an unnamed winger and was hopeful of a resolution before his side’s game against his former club Lincoln City on Saturday.

“We’re making good progress in the wide areas, which is brilliant,” he added.

“As I have alluded to before, we would like to bring in another player that can give us that one-vs-one domination and ball-carrying quality which maybe the group is a little short of at the minute.

“You never say never, you are never quite sure how long these negotiations are going to last for. But we would like to think that we’ll be able to add to the group before Saturday.

“We’ve identified someone we’d like to bring in. I know we are quite a way down the line, but I’m not sure how long the final pieces of jigsaw will take to put in place.

“The deadline is Friday at 12pm, so it needs to be done pretty quickly between now and then if we want him available for Saturday.

“Come Saturday we have five games in 14 days, which is a lot of football, and we are still trying to deal with the depth of the group.”

Dale was a bit-part player under Michael Appleton in pre-season, often played out of position in a midfield three.

He was then left out of Blackpool’s squad for their opening day 1-0 win against Reading last weekend.

Dale made 15 appearances for the Seasiders last season, scoring once.