Charlie Sheringham in familiar goalscoring form for Dartford

By Steve Tervet

Dartford striker Charlie Sheringham is a step closer to joining AFC Bournemouth after travelling to talk to the League 1 club on Monday.

The Darts announced on Saturday they had accepted a bid for the 23-year-old, who has already bagged 12 goals this season.

While manager Tony Burman still harbours faint hopes of holding onto his leading scorer, he confirmed Sheringham was on the south coast to hold transfer talks.

He said: “Bournemouth have been speaking to us for about a month and they finally came up with an offer on Friday that was acceptable to the club. I don’t want to lose him, but he’s down there as we speak, talking to them. We’ll see what they’ve got to say to him, but I’m hoping he doesn’t leave us.

“He wants to go back into pro football and there is an opportunity. Whether that’s the right opportunity or not, I don’t know, they’ll have to convince Charlie. From the club’s point of view, we’ve accepted a bid. He’s probably training down there today.”

Burman confirmed any move away for Sheringham could be completed imminently, rather than having to loan him to Bournemouth ahead of a January switch, as in previous seasons.

“We’ve probably been a little bit caught out, because Charlie wouldn’t have to go out on loan, it would be a straight transfer,” he said. “If you’re playing in a league lower than the Conference Premier, you can go straight away, which wasn’t the case in previous seasons.

“It’s an acceptable bid, but we’re not being greedy. Sometimes clubs think they can come in and nick players from you for nothing, but they’ve put in a bid that’s acceptable.”

Sheringham, the son of former England striker Teddy, counts Welling United and Bishop’s Stortford among his former clubs.

Should Charlie Sheringham give up his full-time job and playing part-time with the Darts to try to crack it in the Football League? Have your say using our comments section below.