SEAN Dyche has revealed there has been no progress on a new deal for Ben Mee, but talks are ongoing.

The Clarets chief also played down reports in Belgium that the club were about to take up the one-year option on Steven Defour's contract, but insisted the Belgian was in 'good shape' as he recovers from a knee injury.

Both Mee and Defour have a year remaining on their current Turf Moor deals, but while the club have an option on the latter they don't on Mee, who could leave for free in the summer of 2019.

Asked if there had been any progress on talks with the centre back, Dyche said: "No, we’re just active with his representatives. We have been for a while.

"You’d be surprised how many players we are speaking to, not always to sign a new deal, but just to say: ‘Look, we’re aware of the situation.’ We try to be really open with the agents, because there’s no point in not being.

"Yet again, it’s my way of working. We just go: ‘They’re going well. We know where they’re at. We know where their contracts are at. In due course, we’re looking around this time to start having a chat.’

"We try to give them a heads-up early, rather than do that daft thing where someone has four good games and you go: ‘Right, we’ve got to give them another contract.’ Which some clubs do. I’m not knocking that. It’s up to them. We try to monitor it all the time."

If Mee doesn't sign a new contract the club could be forced into a sale this summer, but Dyche insisted he wasn't concerned about the situation.

"What will be, will be. We can only do what we do," he said.

"I’m not really worried about the rest of it. What are you going to do? They can only say yes or no, you know. That’s one thing I’ve learned about football.

"Well, they can say maybe, and just drip along. But generally, at some moment, they say yes or no."

Reports in Belgium had stated that Burnley were likely to take up the option on Defour, who is set to return from his knee injury to start pre-season with the Clarets.

"I have no interest in what the Belgian papers are saying," Dyche said.

"I speak to Steven. Steven’s in good shape. Simple as that. I don’t mean that in a nasty way. I just focus on what people are telling me. I speak to Steven, and he’s in a really good place at the minute.

"He’s going really well. He really can’t wait to get back on the grass training. And hopefully the way he’s going, next pre-season, he’ll be up and running roughly at the same time as we are.

"That’s not guaranteed. We haven’t done a date yet, by the way, but imagine that the beginning of July is roughly where it starts, he’ll be there or thereabouts, we hope, the way he’s going. And that’s what his focus is on. The rest of it will look after itself. I’d tell you if there was anything to tell you, but there’s nothing to tell you."