MARK Wright admits the Blues are in a catch-22 situation with in-demand forward Ryan Lowe.

A host of clubs are believed to be lining up a transfer window raid for Chester’s leading scorer, who took his tally for the season to 13 on Tuesday with a goal against Luton.

Wright does not want to lose Lowe, but the City manager knows that funds generated from his sale could make life a lot easier for the cash-strapped Blues.

City are currently working under a Football League transfer embargo due to the late payment of certain players’ wages. It will only be lifted once the payments are made – which is why club owner Stephen Vaughan and Wright will have to think long and hard over any offer for Lowe.

Wright said: “There’s two things to look at. Does it benefit the club for the money to come in to lift the embargo and get other players in? Of course it does.

“Does it weaken us by letting one of our best players go? Of course it does. So you’re caught between a rock and the hard stuff.”

Wright knows Vaughan will have the final say on Lowe’s future, should any club come in for him. The same applies to any other player on Chester’s books.

Wright added: “If anybody comes in and offers unbelievable money for somebody, that will be up to the chairman to say yes or no. I think that they would probably look at it very, very closely if they were offered a six-figure sum for Ryan.”

Wright was speaking yesterday after it emerged that an unnamed club was considering a bid for Lowe.

City director Bob Gray confirmed: “We had a lengthy discussion with a League One club about Ryan’s availability, and they were talking about tabling a bid that would have reached six figures.

“However, at this point in time, we consider that Ryan is more valuable to us than the fee they mooted.”

As The Chronicle went to press yesterday afternoon, Wright was meeting Vaughan to discuss transfer targets and ways of easing the club’s financial problems. Several fringe players have been told they can leave but, as yet, none have found new clubs.

With his hands tied by the transfer embargo, Wright has missed out on several players since the window opened on January 1.

He said: “The longer it goes on, the more we miss out on because players who we’d highlighted and could have got have already shifted clubs.”

One of the players Wright had been tracking, Crewe striker Anthony Elding, has joined Lincoln on loan.

Tony Dinning, who has been told he can leave Chester, is making an impression during his week-long trial with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Inverness boss Craig Brewster said: “Tony’s done fine. He’s certainly not a shy boy. He’s a happy-go-lucky sort of chap and it’s good to have that sort around the place.”