BURY could be ready to offer longer term deals to loan signings Hallam Hope and Adam El-Abd after manager David Flitcroft admitted he is interested in keeping both players at the club.

Hope’s future is the pressing concern, with the Everton striker due to go back to his parent club after Saturday’s trip to Dagenham & Redbridge.

El-Abd, aged 30, is not due to return to Bristol City until the end of January, but the Shakers boss seems keen to open talks with both players.

“I am pretty certain Adam would want to stay if we could extend it,” said Flitcroft.

“Adam has been a steadying influence over the team.

“He has found his feet. He is a warrior, he doesn’t want to get beat and he can certainly mix it.”

Bury ended a nine-game winless streak with a battling 3-2 victory at Northampton on Boxing Day, which they followed up with a 2-0 win at home to Mansfield on Sunday.

Flitcroft picked out El-Abd as a key factor in that turnaround, helping to galvanise the defence to keep a first clean sheet in 10 matches.

Hope’s impact has been less obvious, with the 20-year-old front man still searching for his first goal since returning to the JD Stadium on loan from Goodison.

His failure to score in seven appearances, especially after finding the net five times in eight matches during a loan spell last season, has been a major disappointment.

But after working hard to help the Manchester-born striker overcome fitness problems following an aborted season-long loan at Sheffield Wednesday, Flitcroft believes Hope’s barren spell could work in his favour.

“Hallam’s form is only going to get better and what I wouldn’t like to do is put this work into him over the last eight weeks and then have someone come in and take advantage of that,” he said.

“Maybe that has helped us, with him not scoring.

“I think if he was on six or seven goals now we would have been having a different chat. But he is not.

“He is playing catch-up. He has had six months of not being in a proper training programme, so he is under prepared but I believe he has got elite qualities and it is an open book with him.

“He could be a superb signing if we can make it come together.”

If Flitcroft cannot reach an agreement with Everton and Hope then Bury could be left with just two senior strikers available for selection for the coming weeks after it was confirmed Danny Nardiello had torn his hamstring.

The club’s 32-year-old top scorer pulled up sharply in the first half at Northampton, but the Shakers boss is hopeful he will not be a long-term absentee.

“It is not as bad as we had feared,” said Flitcorft. “The injury did not come from a flat-out sprint.

“Luckily, we have caught it were it is not going to be a six-weeker. I have not really got a timeline on it because we will have to shut him down maybe a week longer than the injury needs to heal to get the timing right.”