CARLISLE United boss Paul Simpson believes Saints youngster Dynel Simeu could go to the “next level” following his loan spell with the League Two side.

The centre-half has impressed throughout his half-season spell at Brunton Park, playing 18 times and registering one assist.

And while the Blues boss did not rule out a return for the 20-year-old next season, he believes Saints will want to test Simeu at a higher level.

“What you find in the Premier League is that they want to see players in their own environment once they’ve been out, usually at the start of pre-season,” Simpson said.

“I’ve been in constant touch with Danny Butterfield (Saints’ loan manager and an ex-Carlisle player) with feedback on how he’s doing, but we haven’t got to a point where we’re talking about next season.

“My focus is on getting a spine of a team, with permanent signings if we possibly can, and then we’ll look at the loan market of just adding a few.

“If Dynel is one of them, I think he’s shown us in my time here what he’s about.

“He’s constantly developing as a footballer and he’s also a really top bloke.

“The fans have taken to him and what I’ve really pleased me about him is that when you get loan players, they don’t always get clubs and they don’t get an affinity with them. He’s embraced the whole thing.

“It’s a really strange thing to say but coming up and playing at Carlisle United is a unique situation. You have to get it or it doesn’t work.

“He certainly has got it and I’m sure there’ll be discussions about it.

"Being honest, I’m expecting them to want him to go a little bit higher, possibly the next level, so we’ll see if that happens and we’ll take it from there.”

Simeu signed for Saints from Chelsea last summer. He featured regularly for the club’s B team before getting his first taste of senior football at Carlisle.

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