CHESTER City hotshot Luke Beckett's proposed move to Bootham Crescent has collapsed, York City boss Terry Dolan said today.

The Minstermen's Division Three rivals Chesterfield, who were relegated last season, now look favourite to snap up the 23-year-old hotshot.

York had agreed a fee - believed to be a six-figure sum - with Chester for the sharp-shooter, who finished joint-second in the Division Three scoring charts with 19 league and cup goals last season.

However, the move was subject to talks with the player and the deal broke down at that stage.

It is believed the Yorkshire-born hitman was instead going for negotiations with Chesterfield this afternoon, with a view to making the move to Saltergate.

The former Barnsley trainee, who moved to Chester in the 1998-99 season, still lives in Sheffield, and Chesterfield's proximity to the South Yorkshire city - a distance of 12 miles - might have influenced his apparent desire to move to the Derbyshire outfit.