Winchester City will grant prolific marksman Andy Forbes permission to go pre-season training with Nationwide Division 3 outfit Yeovil Town - unless one of his other admirers turns the 25-year-old's head.

Forbes boosted his prospects of a move to Huish Park in a successful meeting with Glovers boss Gary Johnson on Saturday, but two other clubs are now firmly in the frame.

The Reading-based marksman, who netted 76 goals last season, was due for talks with Conference outfit Farnborough Town last night.

And tonight there is meeting set up between Forbes, pictured, and AFC Bournemouth boss Sean O'Driscoll.

Yeovil manager Johnson has already shown he is capable of plucking a gem from the lower leagues by signing Adam Stansfield from Elmore and he is keen to discover more about Forbes.

He said: "I spoke to the lad and he came over well. We wanted to find out his aims and ambitions and he has the right mentality.

"I appreciate Winchester allowing us to speak to him and he's been invited to join us for training."

When clubs were sniffing round Forbes last season, FA Vase winners Winchester refused point-blank to let him go out on trial. Their message to his many admirers was to put their money where their mouth was.

But director of football David Malone is prepared to cut Yeovil some slack if it means Forbes gets his chance of a break into league football.

Malone said: "I don't want him playing full-scale competitive matches in case he gets injured and I wouldn't let him go anywhere for a six-week trial, but I'm willing to let him go to Yeovil for three or four days.

"If there's a league club involved I want to try and help Forbesy as much as I can.

"Of course I'd rather they just wrote out a cheque and that was the deal done and dusted, but from what I understand, Gary Johnson has never seen him kick a football and, for Forbesy's sake, I wouldn't want them to make a mistake."

Winchester have already signed two strikers - Fareham Town's Jamie Musselwhite and Bashley's Stuart Cannie - in preparation for Forbes' probable departure and they are still talking to BAT's teenage frontman Richard Gregory.