CREWE are braced for potential January bids to sign Captain Marvel Luke Murphy After losing both Nick Powell and Ashley Westwood to Premiership clubs this summer, Alex boss Steve Davis knows anything could happen during the next transfer window.

And it’s safe to say that Murphy is now probably top of the list when scouts head out of Gresty Road.

The 23-year-old netted and was instrumental in last Saturday’s fantastic 3-1 win at Preston that lifted The Railwaymen into a healthy 12th in League One.

Stoke City have reportedly been monitoring Murphy who is under contract until 2014.

“As manager of Crewe it is inevitable that you’ll lose one or two along the way because of the work we do in the academy,” said Davis.

“But I’ve had no enquiries about any of my players, not one and neither has the Chairman.

“We’re always fair here and if we hear from anyone we talk to the player and take it from there.

“You just don’t know what can happen in the transfer window.

“On one hand you know that someone is watching like with Nick or it can come out of the blue as it did with Ash.”

Having just signed his new, improved 18-month rolling contract, Davis has also secured the future of goalkeeper Alan Martin who stays until summer 2014.

After missing that success at Deepdale, Fulham striker Lauri Dalla Valle has recovered from a foot injury and is in contention to start in Saturday’s home clash against struggling Bury.

The 21-year-old striker has agreed to another month stint as Davis targets more from his ever-improving side.

“I set a target of 30 points before Christmas and they’ve managed it with a few games to spare,” he added.

“We’ve had a good period and become more consistent but we have to keep working hard and get better.

“It’s a new team with some new players and we’ve had to adjust after losing arguably our two best players in the summer.

“They’ve stepped up well, had some good results and the belief and confidence grows with that.

“They are getting used to going to bigger grounds against better players and picking up results.

“They know I am ambitious and I want them to work hard and rise to the challenges we set them.”

Both Kelvin Mellor and AJ Leitch-Smith are back in training after knee injuries and should be fit and ready to go in time for Crewe’s fixtures over the Christmas and New Year period.