BLACKBURN Rovers are ready to offer David Bentley a bumper new contract in a bid to keep him out of the clutches of rival Premier League clubs.

Rovers chairman John Williams has already held preliminary discussions with Bentley's advisers, with a view to offering the 23-year-old a major pay hike.

And Williams plans to step up those negotiations in the next couple of weeks, after Chelsea become the latest club to be linked with a big-money move for the free-scoring midfield player.

The former Arsenal star, who was on target once again in the 2-1 victory at Derby on Sunday, only signed a new four-and-a-half-year deal with Rovers 12 months ago.

However, since then, Bentley has broken into the senior England squad, after blossoming into one of the most gifted midfielders in the Premier League, and Rovers are now keen to reward him for that progress with a new, improved contract.

Bentley certainly appears to be in no rush to leave Rovers, even though he has been linked with some of Europe's top clubs recently.

Having learnt his trade at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger, his career has since come on in leaps and bounds at Rovers, where he has benefited from an extended run in the first team.

And Bentley believes his rapid development over the last 18 months is largely down to manager Mark Hughes and his coaching staff, who have given him the confidence and belief to express himself at the highest level.

When pressed about recent speculation linking him with moves away, Bentley replied: "I think that's part of football.

"All I can say is I enjoy going to work everyday, and I enjoy playing for Blackburn Rovers.

"They've given me a career, and financially they've given me stability as a person off the pitch.

"On the pitch, I'm really enjoying my time, too.

"You just take it day by day and see how things pan out.

"But I'm loving being at Blackburn at the minute, so I don't really want to change that."

In the meantime, Bentley believes he needs to add even more of a cutting edge to his game if he is to fulfil his enormous potential.

Aside from contributing a host of assists this term, the Rovers midfielder has also weighed in with a number of important goals, and he took his tally for the season to seven at Derby when he scored with a brilliant shot from 25 yards.

However, the young tyro insists he still needs to do more in order to be considered a truly top talent.

"I need to continue to score more goals. If I want to be a top player, then I've got to get into double figures," said Bentley.

"If I keep working hard then hopefully that will come.

"In football you've got to be effective so I need to keep creating and scoring goals."