Teenage winger Liam McCarron looks to be getting closer to leaving Carlisle United as boss Steven Pressley revealed talks over a move are “quite far down the line”.

Leeds are among the clubs thought to be trying to take the home-grown player.

Pressley says there now appears a strong chance the 18-year-old Appleby prospect will leave the Blues.

The United manager did not name the parties in for McCarron but said: “The club are in quite progressed talks with several clubs.

“I believe it is quite far down the line and something might happen quite imminently.

“That’s something the board and [director of football] David Holdsworth have been discussing. One thing I’ll stress is that the club won’t sell unless the right bids come in.

“But it is an opportunity he [McCarron] probably doesn’t want to turn down.”

Leeds are believed to be the player’s likeliest destination, with others such as Derby and Wolves having been credited with interest.

Pressley said that, although McCarron is most likely to go into a new club’s development squad initially, United do not expect to be offered the chance to loan him back next season.

“But it may open a door to take one of their players in their squad,” he said.

“We are assessing a few players in their group that we may consider taking in.”

Pressley admitted it was “not ideal” to face the prospect of losing one of Carlisle’s top young prospects after such a brief time in the first team.

But he said: “The unfortunate thing about the current market is, with big clubs, signing young players now is no gamble to them – it’s a drop in the ocean [financially].

“I want to take Carlisle to a point where we don’t need to do this.”

Pressley, meanwhile, said he expected United would be able to hold on to 16-year-old defender Jarrad Branthwaite for a longer period.

The Blues have also fielded enquiries this summer about the Wigton player.