Bristol Rovers and Carlisle United battling for 5-goal League One striker | OneFootball

Following a 1-0 defeat at home to high-flying Portsmouth, Fleetwood Town remain rooted to the bottom of the League One table, with it looking increasingly likely that their 10-year stay in the third tier could be coming to an end.

It has been an unwanted start to life in management for Charlie Adam as well, who succeeded Lee Johnson in the dugout at Highbury earlier this month and so far has lost all four matches in charge.

There is a real sinking feeling surrounding the Cod Army, who are now on to their third manager of the season, and as they sit nine points from safety, they are planning on letting some big earners go before the end of the January transfer window.

And one of those is Jack Marriott, with the experienced striker set to depart the Lancashire outfit as Alan Nixon of The Sun reported last week that Fleetwood will sanction his exit.

Should Marriott head towards the exit door before the January 31 deadline, then it looks as though the 29-year-old is staying put in League One.

Per a report from Nixon via his Patreon account, both Bristol Rovers and Carlisle United are keen on adding the marksman to their squad as they struggle to land their top targets.

Jonson Clarke-Harris was wanted by Rovers in the summer before a deadline day deal collapsed late on, and whilst they retain an interest in the 29-year-old, he may wait out until July to become a free agent from Peterborough United.

Carlisle meanwhile are interested in Bradford City's Jake Young, who scored 16 League Two goals in 25 matches for Swindon Town on loan in the first half of the campaign, but will not meet the Bantams' £500,000 price-tag.

Both clubs have now turned to Marriott in an attempt to find more goals, with the latter perhaps needing them more as they sit in 23rd - just one spot above Fleetwood.

Fleetwood will likely have to subsidide Marriott deal

With a contract that lasts until the summer of 2025, Fleetwood still have Marriott's wages on the books for another year-and-a-half - that would be bad business for them if they are relegated to League Two.

And Nixon claims that any deal that sees Marriott exit Town this month - whether it is on loan or permanently - will see the Cod Army pay a significant contribution towards his wages due to the fact he is one of the highest paid players in the whole division.

Fleetwood took him from Peterborough last January after he fell out of favour with Posh, and with eight goals in 19 appearances for the Fylde coast side in his first half-season, it looked as though he may prove value for money.

However, whilst scoring five times this season, Fleetwood are still struggling and they are set to cut their losses whilst they can - they could have sold him to Oxford United in August as the U's showed interest but a deal did not get done.