Barrow AFC are hoping to turn midfielder Lewis Hardcastle’s loan move into a permanent deal in the coming days, according to manager Ian Evatt.

Hardcastle signed on an initial one-month loan from Championship side Blackburn Rovers last month and has added extra dynamism to the Bluebirds’ midfield, as well as showing an eye for a pass.

After hitting the woodwork a couple of times in previous games, the 20-year-old opened his account for AFC by scoring their third goal in their impressive 3-1 victory at Wexham on Tuesday night.

Evatt said: “Initially, we took him on a month’s loan, but we are close to agreeing a permanent deal with Lewis.

“That isn’t too far away and hopefully we’ll have that tied up by the end of the week.”

Evatt was delighted with the performance of defender Dan Jones, who opened the scoring in the third minute in North Wales before dealing with anything the increasingly desperate Dragons threw at him in his own area.

Evatt joked: “I’m not mentioning how well Dan Jones played for a reason because we need to sign him on his contract, so hopefully he’ll fly under the radar.

“But for me, Dan was the man of the match – he headed everything, he defended properly and he’s got on the scoresheet – hallelujah, because I’ve been moaning at him all the time for missing chances, but finally he gets one.”