TONY Mowbray says the two rejected bids for defender Darragh Lenihan fell well below Rovers’ valuation of the Irishman.

Championship newcomers Sheffield United have seen two bids for the 23-year-old rebuffed, reported to be £400,000 and £500,000.

Lenihan is highly rated at Ewood Park, and Mowbray is keen to keep hold of all of his star names as he looks to launch an immediate push for promotion back to the Championship.

Lenihan has two years left to run on his current deal, having signed a new long-term contract in 2016, but has been attracting interest from the Championship, with the Blades first to show their hand.

But Mowbray is keen to keep the centre back who has played 74 times in all competitions since his debut in April 2015.

“It’s good when people want your players because it tells you that they’re doing well,” Mowbray told the Lancashire Telegraph.

“Every footballer has a price, Cristiano Ronaldo’s is 200m Euros, but what I do know is that Lenihan’s isn’t what was offered.

“It was almost an embarrassing offer.

“Darragh is fine, getting his head down and getting on with the job, he’s got to work hard and has competition to get in the team.”

It remains unclear as to whether Sheffield United will launch a third bid for Lenihan, particularly having signed fellow defender Richard Stearman from Fulham for an undisclosed fee last week.

Meanwhile, Rovers are closing in on their fifth summer signing, with Reading striker Dominic Samuel understood to be close to an Ewood move.

Rovers look to have beaten off competition from Championship pair Barnsley and Ipswich - where Samuel finished last season on loan - to land the striker on a permanent deal.

Mowbray has been working hard to add more mobility to his forward line as he looks to add competition to last season’s top scorer Danny Graham and Samuel appears to be that man.

The 23-year-old worked with the Rovers boss during their time at Coventry at the end of the 2014/15 season.

Samuel is now set to fly out and join his new team-mates on their pre-season training camp in Austria.

He will leave Reading having made just six starts for the club, scoring twice, the last of which came in a 3-2 win at Ewood Park in December.

The former England Under-19 international netted seven times during a spell on loan at Gillingham in 2015/16, and will link up again with Bradley Dack who made the move from the Priestfield to Ewood Park earlier in the summer.

GORDON Greer is set to join Bradford City’s pre-season training camp in Austria.

The 36-year-old, released by Rovers at the end of last season, had been training at Brockhall in a bid to keep up his fitness while looking for a new club.

And the Scot is reported to be flying out to meet up with Stuart McCall’s squad as he looks to earn a permanent deal with the Bantams.