HARTLEPOOL United are poised to land powerful Bury defender Micky Nelson.

While chairman Ken Hodcroft nears a decision on who will lead Pool into Division Two next season, the club lodged a offer for the towering centre-half, which was last night accepted.

Pool are believed to be paying £70,000 for the former Bishop Auckland and Spennymoor man, who played for on trial Pool's reserve side in March 2000.

With Graeme Lee departing for Sheffield Wednesday, Pool have been seeking a dominant defender, with Nelson top of the club's summer shopping list.

Ironically, it was Lee's father Tony who offered him the chance to shine in the UniBond League after he was freed by Portsmouth and not offered a deal at Pool.

A Bury insider admitted: "It looks like he is going - and at that price it's a bit of a steal. He swept the board in the end-of-season awards and is highly thought of.''

He was crowned Bury's player of the year last season and was outstanding when the sides met at Victoria Park in March, keeping out the Pool forwards in a 0-0 draw.

The Washington-based 21-year-old is desperate to for a move to the North-East and Pool have taken advantage of Bury's financial predicament by lodging their bid with the club who recently came out of administration.

Bury co-chairman John Smith last night confirmed: "It's another one off the wage bill. He will be difficult to replace but he expressed a wish to go. It's no use trying to keep hold of players when they are not happy.''

He netted three times for Bury last season - including a last-minute equaliser as his side came from behind to beat Darlington at Gigg Lane in October.

Meanwhile, Hodcroft is expecting to unveil Pool's manager in the next 48 hours after holding further talks with candidates yesterday. Steve Cotterill is favourite to replace Mike Newell.

Newell last night insisted his record at Pool is a proud one. Three weeks after being axed he took over at Luton and said: "I think I did OK there. People can make statistics say what they like. Hartlepool were four points clear when I took over and we stretched that to 14 points - but didn't win the title.

"If anyone had said when I joined we were going to be promoted I think the fans would have accepted that, but it didn't seem to be good enough for some people.

"I'm fortunate to be joining a club with a history of playing at the top level, Hartlepool have never done that."

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