Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has ruled his club out of the running for Town striker Martyn Waghorn, who he says has had a price tag of £8-£10 million put on his head by the Blues.
Earlier today, the Blades were reported to have made a £5 million bid for 28-year-old Waghorn, Town’s 16-goal top scorer last season.
While we understand the South Yorkshire club have shown some interest in Waghorn this summer, along with the likes of Middlesbrough, Derby, Nottingham Forest and Birmingham, Wilder says Town’s valuation is beyond his club’s means.
"I think another one that I think has got a price tag of £8-£10 million on him, so that rules us out straight away,” he told Sheffield Live TV (below, 18mins 21secs). "Any of those numbers.”
"I think from my background as well, I’ve got to make sure that I make right decisions that we don’t overpay for players and then we’re suffering in two or three years’ time and we’re breaking teams up because we have to.
"Ambitious, yes. Wanting to spend money, we feel we have done. What is a player’s worth? We have to look at the market and we have to basically look at our instincts and our knowledge and experience of players, what we feel they’re worth.
"And, I’ve got to say, £8-£10 million is a huge number, as are the numbers that are banned about for [other players].”
Speaking this morning, Town boss Paul Hurst admitted that he couldn't guarantee that Waghorn would still be with the Blues on the opening day of the season.
Wilder also spoke about former Blues striker David McGoldrick, who is currently on trial at Bramall Lane.
"He’s a proper footballer, he’s had a few injury problems, but if there are no deals out there or this is a better deal for us financially in terms of what he brings to the football club, I’ll push for it and try and make it happen,” he said.
"I’m not a snob in terms of who we sign and where we get them from, in terms of the players we’ve already got.
"In the training sessions, he wants to come in, which is definitely a tick in the box straight away, he’s not a prima donna footballer.
"He’s moved back up to Nottingham, that was a bit of an issue when he was living in Ipswich and he had his family back in Nottingham.
"[In football], there are issues when you do live away from where you work, the travelling, the amount of time you’re in the car and this, that and the other, it’s not an ideal scenario.
"If he does the business, and I’ve got to say so far, he's been outstanding. I know that all the supporters that went up to Bradford in midweek, where they put as decent side out, he and Leon were absolutely outstanding in the first half when they played on Tuesday night.”
Meanwhile, Norwich City winger Yanic Wildschut, who was linked with the Blues among a number of other clubs yesterday, has joined Bolton Wanderers on a season-long loan.