Ashford boss Tommy Warrilow is hopeful of extending George Nikaj’s loan from Dover.

Nikaj has made a big impact at Homelands, scoring four goals in seven appearances.

His latest strike came at the weekend as the Nuts & Bolts beat Three Bridges 2-0 in the FA Trophy Second Qualifying Round.

The forward’s initial one-month loan is up after this Saturday’s Isthmian South East game at Littlehampton.

But boss Warrilow has held talks with Dover counterpart Andy Hessenthaler and the signs look promising.

“I’m sure we can come to some sort of arrangement,” said Warrilow, whose side sit fourth in the table. “It might be they have a call-back option.

“The most important thing for George is that he’s not forgotten at Dover, and he hasn’t been.

“I’ve been to see Hess, I speak to him and send him the clips and Hess came to watch George at Corinthian (last Wednesday).

“He’s loving it here, he’s getting minutes and scoring goals but his priority must be to get in Dover’s first-team.

“We want to try and keep him on board for now and if we keep developing him, he’ll be a great asset for Dover.

“He’ll get called back at some point, so I am still looking for another forward.

“All the time we’ve got him there’s no issue but if I haven’t, we are short up front with Johan ter Horst out.”

Nikaj has formed a good partnership with Gary Lockyer, who scored three goals in his first two games after rejoining Ashford from Cray Wanderers.

Lockyer struck twice in the 4-0 win at Corinthian and followed up with another goal against Three Bridges.

“I thought we had a good chance of getting him back when he left Cray,” said Warrilow.

“We’ve just said to him don’t put yourself under so much pressure.

“He’s gone to Cray, where it hasn’t worked out, which underlines how much you’ve got to enjoy your football.

“Come here, bang in the goals and play with a smile on your face.

"It’s his hometown club, he’s looked after here and I think he realises his game has come on with the things we do with him.”

The other new recruit at Ashford is midfielder Henry Muggeridge, a player Warrilow last worked with a decade ago at Tonbridge Angels.

He missed out on Muggeridge over the summer, with the 29-year-old joining Isthmian Premier Lewes.

But when he became available, Warrilow got his man.

“It helped that Henry’s played for me before,” he said.

“I’ve said before we know we’re not 100%, we know there’s more to come and Henry ticks another box, but we’re still looking.

“We’re not a million miles away but I’d still like another one in midfield and we need another forward.

“Goalkeeping-wise and defensively we’re fine, we’ve been outstanding, but we’ve got to be more competitive in midfield and start taking our chances.

“Henry knows what I’m like, he knows what I want, I want to make him even better. We do demand a lot here.

“If you get to a certain level, great, now let’s push you to the next level.”

Ashford lost 4-0 in the Velocity Trophy at Whitehawk on Tuesday night.