Coyle denies new Burnley bid for Celtic striker

12:04pm Thursday 3rd July 2008

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BURNLEY manager Owen Coyle insists he has not made a fresh approach for Celtic striker Derek Riordan.

Reports from Scotland suggested a £750,000 move to the Clarets was imminent for the 25-year-old.

But Coyle stressed that although he remained an admirer of Riordan, who he targeted during the January transfer window, the latest rumours are wide of the mark.

“The last conversation I had with Celtic was probably over three weeks ago when they were on for Kyle (Lafferty) and obviously Derek Riordan was mentioned within that. But I’ve not spoken to Celtic since,” said the Clarets boss, who had a £400,000 offer rejected in the New Year.

“Whether people are jumping the gun, I don’t know.

“There’s not any secret that I’ve always been an admirer of Derek Riordan because I’ve seen him come through as a young kid and I think he’s a talented player.

“But it’s like anything else, if you can’t agree a price, or whatever you want, then it’s all hypothetical.

“But I haven’t spoken to Celtic since Kyle went to Rangers, so there’s nothing new to add on that.”

Sources north of the border suggested Celtic were prepared to knock £250,000 off their original £1million asking price for the former Hibernian player, who has fallen out of favour with manager Gordon Strachan.

But £750,000 is still much more than the Clarets are seemingly willing to pay, with Coyle intent on adding another three new signings to his current intake of four.

I understand Strachan wants Riordan out of the club before they return to training on Friday, but whether he must renegotiate a deal for that to happen remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, Coyle was satisfied with the way talks with two other targets have progressed so far.

“Talks were positive but not quite hard and fast in respect of an agreed deal,” he said.

“Whether it’s something we revisit, time will tell.

“But I thought talks were positive and there were some encouraging signs within it, but nothing concrete.”