Hereford trio on radar of Football League clubs

By Neil Harvey

A TRIO of Hereford FC forwards are attracting attention from as high up as the Championship, The Non-League Paper can reveal.

Ryan McLean, Tom Owen-Evans and Maziar Kouhyar were all signed for minimal money or free transfers by the club’s rising star manager Josh Gowling, who has developed a reputation for spotting and developing talent, and has turned them into a fearsome attacking unit.

And with Hereford currently top of the National League North form table and in the play-off hunt with five wins in six matches having finally clicked up top in recent weeks, all three are being actively scouted by Football and National League clubs.

Tricky young winger McLean, with four goals in 24 games this term, is on the radar of Championship club West Bromwich Albion.

The 22-year-old West Midlander – having been signed on a two-year deal from NPL club Newcastle Town last June – could command a decent fee should manager Steve Bruce make a move for him in the summer.

Former Newport County player Owen-Evans, 24, who has a goal every three games this season, is, it is understood, being watched by League Two side Harrogate Town, who sent a scout to Hereford’s 2-0 win over Guiseley at the weekend.

They will also have been impressed by Kouhyar, who is on a run of form that’s seen him feature in the Vanarama National League North Team of The Week two weeks running, and The Non-League Paper team of the week for the latest round of fixtures.

The fan favourite, who’s also 24, netted both goals in what his second Man of the Match performance in as many games.

Solihull Moors, currently sixth in the National League, are understood to be looking at the Afghanistan international to help them get them into the play-offs and into League Two for the first time in their history.

Kouhyar, who was rehabilitated by Gowling having fallen out of the game and become a car salesman, still lives in Birmingham, and might be tempted by a move closer to home.

However, Solihull may face competition from AFC Fylde, who are in the same division as Hereford but are well-positioned to return to the National League and are said to be admirers of the former Walsall forward.