DOUGIE Freedman has got his “fingers crossed” that Marcos Alonso will accept the offer of a new deal at Wanderers.

The Spanish full-back grabbed one of the goals in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Wolves that took the Whites to within two points of the play-off places.

Alonso could walk away from the Reebok for nothing this summer and has already turned down one contract offer from the club in January.

That deal remains on the table, however, and after nailing down a first-team place and playing the most consistent football of his Wanderers career to date, the former Real Madrid youth product is now said to be giving serious consideration to extending his stay.

But Freedman reckons that his decision will not hinge on whether the Whites are promoted at the end of the current campaign.

“Marcos is playing by the rules,” the manager said. “His contract is running down. Marcos has been offered a new contract and so far so good. He has not said ‘no’ to it. He said he is thinking about it.

“He wants to see which direction the club is going; not in terms of what league we will be playing but in terms that he wants to play every week, he wants to be coached and get better.

“He has not said ‘no’ and we are not doing too badly in terms of coaching him and making him play every week. We have got our fingers crossed on that one.

“But if he doesn’t I will still go to bed at 9pm every night and still have a very good sleep and move on and get someone else.”

Alonso had been very much a fringe player whose Reebok career had been beset with injuries and off-field issues before Freedman’s arrival – but his recent form has shown why the club were willing to pay more than £2million to secure his services from the Bernabeu nearly three years ago.

Fiorentina, Swansea City, Stoke City and Nottingham Forest all made attempts to snap him up for a bargain fee in January, knowing his contract was winding down.

But after fending off their advances, Freedman said back in January that he has “not given up hope” of convincing the young defender to continue his career in the North West.

The manager is confident that Alonso can continue his progress at Wanderers were he to sign a new deal.

“We are working on video analysis to see where he can get better,” he said of the 22-year-old, who scooped the club’s player of the month award for March this week. “His back post defensive headers are terrific right now.

“He has always been an attacking full-back so there’s no problem there. He is buying in so we can do no more.”

David Ngog also got on the scoresheet in an outstanding first 10 minutes as Wanderers chalked up a seventh straight home victory in the league.

“I think we have deserved it,” Freedman said. “The football today was outstanding. It could have been four or five in the first 20 minutes or so. There is a plan to it, it's organised, it’s working well.”