ANY possible move by Peterborough United for York City striker Clayton Donaldson is in limbo.

The Posh shattered the Conference transfer record to sign Stevenage winger George Boyd yesterday.

The League Two promotion-chasers club forked out £260,000 for the 21-year-old, who has scored eight goals for Stevenage this season.

Where this leaves any Peterborough deal involving 17-goal Donaldson is probably down to Posh's director of football Barry Fry, who has already offered £100,000 for City's star striker and watched him in action in last Friday's 1-0 home defeat against Woking.

The Minstermen have offered Donaldson an extension to his current contract which runs out in the summer, but the 22-year-old player has yet to sign.

Fry, an admirer of many of non-League football's top names, has three main options over Donaldson. He may come back to York with an improved offer, risk waiting until the summer when any deal could go to tribunal, or drop his interest in the player altogether.

With Wolves, Hibernian and others have already checked on Donaldson's form, Fry could miss out on his quarry.

From City's point of view, Peterborough's willingness to pay handsomely for Boyd's talents gives them a financial marker for Donaldson's value, although the board at KitKat Crescent have stressed their preferred option is for him to remain a City player and help the club gain promotion to the Football League.

Boyd will join Peterborough's growing crop of non-League talent on January 8. Stevenage have already signed Grays Athletic's Jamie Slabber as their replacement for Boyd.

City and Donaldson had to put all the speculation behind them as they headed for Morecambe for this afternoon's tough game (3pm).

City are likely to make one change with right-back Darren Craddock returning to the starting line up in place of Peat and Anthony Lloyd switching back to the left flank.

Morecambe will be in buoyant mood after a Wayne Curtis goal was enough to given them a 1-0 win at Tamworth on Saturday and lift them above City into fifth place.

Today's squads

MORECAMBE (probable): Drench, Yates, Howard, Bentley, Stanley, Twiss, Hunter, Curtis, Blackburn, McLachlan, Burns. Subs: Rigoglioso, Brennan, Robinson, McNiven, Walmsley.

YORK CITY; from Evans, Lloyd, Goodliffe, McGurk, Craddock, Bishop, Panther, Bowey, Woolford, Farrell, Donaldson, Stamp, Reid, McMahon, Greenwood, Parslow

KICK-OFF: 3pm