OWEN Coyle has confirmed Blackburn Rovers will open contract talks with Ben Marshall, Shane Duffy and the other players going into the final year of their deals.

And the Rovers boss has also reiterated his stance on captain Grant Hanley amid continued interest from Newcastle United.

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Midfielder Marshall and centre-back Duffy have less than 12 months remaining on their contracts.

And Coyle, who will also have to discuss fresh terms with the likes of Jason Lowe, said: “Ben’s a wonderfully talented player and I have indicated to him, as I will with Shane Duffy and anybody in that situation, that at Blackburn Rovers we’d love to have them here.

“All we can do is enter into that dialogue, present something to the players and their representatives, and see where we go from there.

“That’s certainly in my mind to keep those good players and try and be proactive in doing that.

“Decisions will have to be made at some point and then we’ll take it from there.”

Rovers director Mike Cheston backed up Coyle when he said: “Absolutely, of course, for obvious reasons.

“Those conversations need to be had and we want to keep our best players.”

Coyle is determined to keep hold of Hanley after Rovers rejected bids of £3.5m and £4.5m for the 24-year-old Scotland international centre-back from Championship rivals Newcastle.

“We don’t want to lose Grant Hanley and we’re not trying to sell Grant Hanley,” said Coyle.

“Nobody here is saying, ‘bring me bids’, far from it, but I can’t stop other clubs admiring our players because I do it with other clubs myself.

“But I always do it in a manner which I would call a proper procedure. I’d always try and offer something that I feel is close to the player’s valuation. To my mind, those offers are nowhere near Grant’s valuation.

“Grant is under contract at the club and I’ve got to say he’s an outstanding young man. He is a terrific player who I truly believe is getting better.

“When you make offers, fine, but for me, my offer would be on the level that I think the player’s ability is worth.

“You can only get what somebody is prepared to pay but that’s only if you’re trying to sell something. We’re not looking to sell anything.

“Even in a scenario where you would look to sell that player, which we don’t want to happen, it’s nowhere near.

“I saw the other day Newcastle want £35m for (Moussa) Sissoko, which is brilliant, because he’s an outstanding player, but please then don’t offer me £4.5m for Grant Hanley.

“If you’ve got your valuation of very good players, which they are, then make sure you are respecting Blackburn Rovers as a club.”

Cheston confirmed that Hanley is the only player to have been subject of a bid despite reports linking Duffy with Celtic, Swansea City, Wolves and Fulham and midfielder Elliott Bennett with Ipswich Town.

Rovers are operating without parachute payments for the first time since being relegated from the Premier League in 2012.

And asked whether the club may lose one of its ‘big hitters’ this summer Cheston said: “It’s a definite possibility.

 “I’ve always said if somebody makes the right offer and the player himself  accepts it, if those two things happen,  then it’s the best solution for everybody concerned that (a transfer) happens.

“It’s what you do next which is far more important.”

And asked whether funds from any sale would be handed back to Coyle, who so far has made a trio of free transfers and two season-long loans, Cheston said: “Certainly funds would be made available out of that. Whether it’s all of them is another matter.”