FORMER Newcastle United striker David Eatock could be set to make a shock return to UniBond First Division club Chorley.

England manager Kevin Keegan paid Chorley £25,000 for Eatock five years ago after he burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old.

But despite becoming a prolific scorer in Newcastle's reserve team, he never went on to enjoy first team success, and has since failed to make the grade with a series of different clubs.

However, the tricky forward could now be ready to relaunch his career with the club where it all began.

And after training with Chorley recently, Magpies boss Ken Wright admits he would be interested in bringing him back.

"We are always interested in good players and I think David is a good player," said Wright.

"The lad's hunger is first class but he's got to find himself a club and then stay there.

"He's been at various different places this season but he hasn't managed to persuade anyone to offer him a contract.

"So it might be that he has to prove himself again in non-League football first before a League club will take a chance on him again."

Eatock first sprang to prominence in Chorley's Youth team in the mid-nineties.

But he soon stepped up to the first team squad at Victory Park, prompting outspoken manager Dave Sutton to claim 'only Kryptonite could stop him from reaching the top'.

It was only a matter of time before Newcastle then made their move, shattering Chorley's club record transfer fee to take him to St James's Park. But despite his success at Central League level, he never quite made the grade on Tyneside.

Since his release, he's had trial spells with Chesterfield, Rochdale and Brentford before slipping back into non-League earlier this season where he has featured for both Northwich and Leigh RMI. But now he's on the look out for another club again and Chorley could fit the bill.

However, one player who will definitely be linking up with the Magpies again is utility man Damian Corcoran.

The former Bamber Bridge man made an immediate impact at Victory Park when he arrived from Irongate in the summer, only to quit just a couple of months later due to his commitments with the church.

But now he's agreed to return and Wright is delighted to add him to his squad.

"It's brilliant he's decided to come back because he's a versatile lad, as well as a decent footballer," said Wright.

Corcoran will go straight into the squad for tomorrow's game against bottom-of-the-table Whitley Bay.

And Wright is hoping his side can start reproducing their excellent away form at Victory Park, so they can mount a late surge up the table. "We are well aware of the fact we've got to improve at home," said Wright. "If we'd done as well at home as we have done away then we'd be top of the league.

"But having said that, I don't think our home performances have been too bad. We just haven't got the results to show for it."

The Magpies are currently seventh in the UniBond First Division going into the clash and trail second-placed Burscough by 16 points with two games in hand.

But Wright still hasn't given up all hope of promotion just yet.

"Being a realist, we are too far off the pace because we've lost too many games.

"Yet having said that, if we could suddenly put four or five wins together we could still get up there."

Adam Critchley, Neil Mitchell and Simon Kay are all missing through suspension tomorrow.

But Kay is set to appeal to the PFA about his sending off against Clitheroe after the Lancashire FA rejected his claims that he was a victim of mistaken identity.

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