Owen Coyle has denied making an official bid for Rhys Williams but is interested in bringing the Middlesbrough defender to Burnley.
Williams spent the second half of Burnley’s promotion season on loan at Turf Moor and made 17 starts in The Championship.
Recent reports indicated that, following Boro’s own relegation, Coyle had made a £1.5 million offer for the right back who this week made his international debut for Australia.
But Coyle is adamant that he has not made any contact with Boro chairman Steve Gibson despite his admiration for the player.
“I’ve not spoken to Middlesbrough about him,” Coyle told the Burnley Citizen. “He’s a player I like, there’s no doubt about that, but I’m not going to get involved with the speculation about you’re after this, that and the next thing.
“What I would say is that I’ve already put a couple of offers in for players at different places and they were initially rejected.
“Then you move on or else you revisit it. That’s where we are and Rhys Williams wasn’t one of the players we made an offer for.”
Burnley are yet to reinforce their squad after winning promotion via the Championship play-offs but Coyle has urged Clarets fans to remain patient as he aims to implement a sustainable transfer policy.
“I’ve said before we will not be able to compete with the big hitters in this division, or even the lower hitters, but we’ll do our best for Burnley,” Coyle added.
“And the players I will look to target, I will make sure they are the right type to play at this football club.
“There’s no panic. I know fans and everyone else are saying let’s go to Tom, Dick and Harry and get them in tomorrow.
“But we have to make sure they’re the right type of players – for the longevity of the club and to make sure it’s run well for years to come.”