SCUNTHORPE United are today poised to seal a deal for striker Conor Sammon, the Telegraph can reveal.

Manager Ian Baraclough is 'hopeful' the 24-year-old front man will pen a contract at Glanford Park, having spent yesterday locked in talks with the Irish front man.

Sammon, whose goals this term have fired Kilmarnock up to fourth place in the Scottish Premier League, spent last night at a hotel, mulling over a potential move to the Championship.

But the fact he decided to do that in England, rather than return to Killie to prepare for their SPL match with Hearts tonight, is a good sign for the Iron boss.

"We had talks yesterday and Conor went away to have a think about things overnight and talk it through with his family," Baraclough told the Telegraph last night.

"That's not by going back to Scotland, that's by stopping in a hotel so we could find out an answer today.

"Kilmarnock have got a game tonight and I think if there was any doubt in his mind, he'd be straight back up the road and preparing for that.

"We want to get things done as quickly as possible to get him integrated into the squad for the Burnley game on Saturday."

Getting Sammon to sign on the dotted line would represent a quick bit of business for the Iron.

Cash-strapped Kilmarnock, reported to be £10million in debt, confirmed they had accepted a bid for the player on Saturday afternoon, shortly before the Dubliner netted his 16th goal of the season in a 1-1 draw with St Johnstone.

Neither club will confirm the fee, but it is thought to be around £450,000, with add-ons if the Iron survive in the Championship this season.

At 6ft 1ins tall and with a stocky frame, Sammon will bring a different element to a United attack that has struggled in the physical arena of the Championship.

But he will add much more to Scunthorpe's ranks than simply power, according to Baraclough.

"You can see he's a strong, powerful lad who causes defences problems," added the Iron boss.

"I've seen several of his games now and he's been quite impressive. You can't argue with his goal ratio this season either.

"Conor works hard, ruffles feathers among back lines and having spoken to him for a couple of hours about football and where he wants to be, I know he's a bright lad whose got a good future in the game.

"That's why we want to invest the money that we are into him."