Football League strugglers Newport County are understood to be winning the race for sought-after St Neots Town striker Tom Meechan.

The 26-goal frontman missed Saints’ goalless derby draw at Histon in the Southern League Premier Division today.

Caretaker St Neots boss Andy Davies revealed Meechan was unavailable due to discussing a possible transfer to a higher-level club.

Davies did not reveal Meechan’s whereabouts, but sources close to the club suggest he was in Wales to meet officials of a Newport side who sit 20th in League Two, seven points above the relegation zone.

Meechan has also trained with another League Two side, Crawley, and Conference outfit Eastleigh in recent days.

“Tom is in discussions elsewhere and was left out of the squad today,” said Davies in a post-match interview with BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

“There are three-or-four opportunities for him to move to a higher level, and we have left things to Tom and his agent.

“He was at one of those clubs today to meet the first-team manager and hopefully there will be some more news on it in the coming week.

“He will be a massive loss to the club if he does go, but we have never been a club to stand in the way of players progressing if they have aspirations to play at a higher level.”

Meechan, who hit 53 goals for Godmanchester Rovers last term, could become the second Hunts hotshot in little more than three years to be snapped up by Newport. They signed St Ives Town goal machine Conor Washington, who now plays for Championship side QPR following a multi-million pound move from Peterborough last month, in October, 2012.

St Neots drew a blank without Meechan as they shared the derby spoils at Histon on a day when Davies was not impressed by his side’s display.

“We were sloppy, we were under-hitting passes and we were not being brave.

“We wanted the three points, but our display wouldn’t have warranted them.

“We have a few young players who we are bringing into the team and it takes time for them to settle.

“For most of the season, the club were very direct whereas we have reverted to playing through the thirds, which is the only style of football I like.

“Obviously it takes time for that to work, but we’ve had a couple of good results lately.”

St Neots host promotion-chasers Hitchin on Tuesday.