Charlie Sheringham has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of striking sensation Cody McDonald – by the man with the Midas touch in non-league.

Long-serving Dartford boss Tony Burman had a hand in unearthing both McDonald and Ipswich’s Jimmy Bullard and reckons Sheringham could be set to follow a similar path.

Burman confirmed the Conference South outfit had accepted a bid from Cherries for Sheringham, the 23-year-old son of former England and Spurs star Teddy Sheringham.

The striker, who spent a fortnight with Cherries as a 16-year-old, met boss Lee Bradbury to discuss personal terms at the Seward Stadium yesterday.

Sheringham, an FA Youth Cup winner with Ipswich in 2005, dropped into the non-league ranks after spells with Crystal Palace and Charlton Athletic.

Burman told the Daily Echo: “Charlie is a very intelligent player and is good enough to play higher. We don’t want to lose him but, if an opportunity arises for one of our players to progress, we have to help them.

“He has scored 11 goals in 12 games for us this season and has carried on his form from last season. In my opinion, he is the best striker in our league and is getting better all the time.

“He is still a young player but is maturing. He has been a professional before so understands the training regime and everything that goes with it. He knows where the goal is and is a very good all-round footballer.”

Burman discovered McDonald playing for Maldon Town, the striker’s goalscoring exploits for Dartford earning him a dream move to Norwich City in February 2009 before he joined Coventry in August.

“We sold Dave Martin to Crystal Palace four years ago and then Cody went to Norwich,” said Burman. “We are quite comfortable with our knowledge of dealing with professional clubs and transfer fees. The fee is minimal from our point of view but the last thing we would want would be to stop a player leaving because of a fee. All we ask is to be shown a bit of respect and Bournemouth have done that.

“We chased Cody for a long time and he made the step up. He was an exceptional player and Charlie has got the makings of being the same. He will score goals and his all-round play is excellent.

“Jimmy Bullard came to us from Corinthian Casuals. I watched him for 45 minutes and decided we should have him. He moved on to fantastic things.”

Asked about Teddy Sheringham’s involvement with Charlie, Burman said: “He comes to watch games as a parent and nothing else. Charlie sometimes gets a bit of stick at away games but handles the situation well and does his talking on the pitch.”