Wigan Athletic boss on hopes of keeping hold of on-loan Nottingham Forest star Dale Taylor

But the Latics boss is well aware there will be many clubs higher up the food chain that will have been alerted by his fine form this season.

And even if Latics had a free run at the Northern Ireland striker, the kind of money required would more than likely make such a deal problematic.

"He's had a great season," acknowledged Lowe, after watching Taylor notch his 11th goal of the campaign in the season-ending draw at Northampton.

"I've said to him, he's the kind of striker you want to work with, because he listens, and he learns.

"I've been on his case quite a bit, and he probably thinks I don't like him! But I love him to pieces, he's a great kid, and he's a goalscorer.

"Whatever he does and wherever he goes for the rest of his career, I'd like him to be a 20-goal striker rather than 10 or 11. He can maybe be a bit more selfish in certain areas, getting across the front of defenders.

"I showed him a clip where he didn't do that in a recent game, and it was nice to see him do that and get on the end of Carra's cross at Northampton to nod it in.

"Eleven goals, eight assists, a couple of player of the year awards...he deserves all he gets."

But is there any chance of keeping him at Latics for at least another year?

"Unfortunately I think he'll be too expensive for what we'd be looking at, to be honest with you," acknowledged Lowe. "Listen, he'll be on a long list of targets, but what we can't do is come out and say 'we're looking to sign Dale Taylor'.

"I'm 100 per cent sure Nottingham Forest would demand a huge fee if they are looking to sell him - and they probably still have hopes of him maybe playing at a higher level.

"I do know Dale has enjoyed his time here, we've helped each other along the way, he's scored goals, the fans love him. But I can't really say much more than that, because he's not our player.

"If he was available to sign, or re-sign, I'm sure we wouldn't be saying 'oh no', because of how well he's done here. We'll have a look at it, see what it looks like, and if there's any opportunity, we'll see what we can do."