The Blues' central midfielder has been a target of the London club's boss, Paul Fairclough, during the last few weeks.

Confirming that the Bees had been in touch to enquire about the player, City boss Simon Davies said: "Mark Hughes played well in our two games against Barnet last season and I know that Paul Fairclough has shown a big interest in him.

"Mark's family and wife-to-be – he's getting married at the end of next season – are all from down there, but whether Barnet will sign him I don't know.

"Barnet's interest in Mark seems to have gone further than Cambridge's interest in Chris Holroyd, but until a signature appears on a piece of paper it remains only an interest."

But Davies also confirmed that Cambridge boss Gary Brabin was continuing to track City striker, Chris Holroyd, adding: "There has been a lot of interest in Chris in terms of three or four clubs asking about him. But at the moment it's just interest in the player instead of a real offer.

"Cambridge would take Chris tomorrow, but when interest arrives from another club in the same division as us or in a higher division, I suppose you can't blame the player in wanting to hold out, and that's what Chris is doing with his agent at the moment.

"It's a delicate situation for him and his agent I suppose because sometimes you hold out for something that is just an interest.

"I've been interested in a lot of players during pre-season, but a lot of them have ended up going to other clubs because we haven't put solid bids in for them, or they've decided to go elsewhere.

"There's always a lot of interest in players, but whether it goes through is a different story.

"Gary Brabin was on the phone again this week to show his interest in Chris and would like a move to happen. If a move does happen it would be cleared in the next week or so."

And Davies revealed that he was interested in signing experienced forward, Trevor Benjamin, who was released from Hereford United last season: "Trevor Benjamin did well for Hereford last season when he scored 12 goals," he said. "He's got plenty of experience and he has a proven record.

"We'll see how it goes. It's another one that's in the mix, but we'll try and get him in to see how he performs.

"Trevor is big and strong like John Murphy, and we're very happy with John because he gives us everything he's got, but he has got a problem with his back."