Leeds United have reportedly stolen a march on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the race to sign Carlisle United teenager Liam McCarron.
The 18-year-old winger broke into the League Two side's first team last season, going on to make 20 appearances in total, including 16 in the league.
A number of sides tracked his progress as the campaign wore on, including Wolves, newly-promoted Sheffield United and Frank Lampard's Derby County.
According to the Daily Mail, Leeds are now in pole position to land the youngster and are hopeful of having a £250,000 bid accepted before pre-season starts next month.
The newspaper adds that Leeds hope the promise of more game time in the Championship will give them the edge over Wolves, where McCarron would almost certainly move into their Under-23s setup.
Leeds are due to begin pre-season with a glamour tie against Manchester United in Australia on July 17.
Neil Wilkes
