DOUGIE Freedman admits that Wanderers have been priced out of deals to sign Crewe striker Max Clayton and Liverpool’s Jordon Ibe.

The Whites boss had high hopes of landing the talented duo last week but has once again been frustrated by a lack of available funds at the Macron Stadium.

On Ibe, the highly-rated Anfield winger who had been close to signing a season-long loan until last week, Freedman confirmed that the 18-year-old was on the verge of a move to Championship rivals Derby.

“Jordon looks like he is going to Derby,” he said. “It looks like we have missed out on that one once again.

“The contribution that we would have had to make financially was too difficult for us to meet.”

On Clayton, the 20-year-old striker who had been training with the club last week, Freedman confirmed that he had now travelled to Denmark to speak with FC Midtjylland.

“He’s a good player and we liked him – he’s the kind of player we should be bringing to the club,” he said.

“But the fee that Crewe wanted it out of our reach.”

Crewe were understood to have put a £1million price tag on the youngster, who was out of contract with the League One club but whose value would have been set by a tribunal if Wanderers had pursued a permanent deal.

If he moves abroad, the fee received by the Railwaymen would be substantially lower than it would if he stayed in England.