West Bromwich Albion have rejected a second bid from Fulham for captain Jonathan Greening.
The Cottagers had tabled a bid believed to be in the region of £3.25 million but it was deemed unsatisfactory by Albion.
Roy Hodgson’s Premier League side have already had a £2-million plus a player offer for the Albion captain rejected and branded ‘derisory’ by chairman Jeremy Peace.
Greening, who has two years left to run on his current contract and has been offered a new four-year deal, is believed to be keen to move to Craven Cottage and revealed his intentions to leave Albion by putting in a written transfer request before Fulham’s first bid was made.
Despite initially stating he wanted to finish his career at The Hawthorns, Greening is keen to stay in the Premier League, although he has said he would be happy to help the club’s Championship challenge if a deal could not be sorted during this transfer window.
Greening has been a loyal servant to Albion during his five years with the club and he is a popular character with the Albion board, but Peace has declared this summer that no player will be allowed to leave unless their valuation was met.
Albion have no financial need to sell players following their relegation, although head coach Roberto Di Matteo is likely to trim the squad of players considered surplus to requirements.
However, Greening is seen as an important part of Di Matteo’s plans and will not be allowed to leave on the cheap.
Albion returned yesterday from their pre-season tour of Slovenia and Greening looked relaxed and happy with the squad, and he scored in their 3-0 victory over NK Nafta.