SWINDON Town defender Akin Odimayo has attracted the attention of several championship clubs and could be in line for a summer move, according to reports.

The 21-year-old – who is thought to have an option for a further year on his expiring Town contract – is wanted by Derby County, Stoke City, Sheffield Wednesday, and Preston North End, according to football media outlet, TeamTalk.

Odimayo signed for Swindon at the beginning of the season and has since made 33 appearances in all competitions, helping to keep five clean sheets.

But despite interest from clubs higher up the football pyramid, Sheridan believes the former Reading defender has a fair way to go before being a genuine championship starter.

He said: “I’m not aware of any interest – I haven’t seen that anywhere. I can see why teams are interested, but he’s been in and out of the team here. He’s performed well at times and then he hasn’t performed well.

“He’s a young lad who’s learning the game, and he’s got a lot to learn still. He needs to push himself a lot more to firstly get a regular starting place and make it so that a manager has no doubt in his mind that he’s going to turn up.

“He needs to be consistently performing well if it’s Championship clubs looking at him and a move does work out, but first and foremost, he needs to concentrate on what he’s doing at Swindon and try to get a regular starting spot in the team.”

Likely to get a start on Saturday as Town welcome Peterborough United, Odimayo will have one of the best strikers in the league to contend with as Swindon aim to shock Posh at the County Ground.

Sheridan believes his team should revel in their role as underdogs and come out fighting as the battle for survival continues.

He said: “I think it’s a good game for us because no one is expecting us to win.

“Peterborough are going really well, but Darren Ferguson (manager) knows we are capable of beating them. I think if we turn up on the day and play to the standards we have shown at times this season, we are capable of winning.

“Peterborough is a team that is looking to get out of the league, but we know the importance of winning it and we’re capable of winning it if we turn up and perform like we know we can.

“But we’ve got to turn up – we can’t sit back because if we do, we will have problems.”