Southampton insist they won’t pay over the odds for Adam Armstrong as manager Ralph Hasenhuttl voiced his frustration at the current transfer market.

Saints are the only side to bid for the 24-year-old this summer, seeing an £8m offer rejected by Rovers earlier this month. They are yet to follow that up, despite links with a possible swap-deal involving striker Michael Obafemi, with the two clubs well apart in their valuation of Armstrong.

Rovers would prefer a straight cash deal for Armstrong, who netted 29 goals last season, amid reports over a possible swap deal involving Andre Gray, with Watford the latest side to be showing interest in his services.

The stalemate remains between Rovers and potential suitors, with the club holding out for close to £20m.

That is putting off clubs from making a bid, with Armstrong into the final year of his deal, but Rovers are keen to push for as high a figure as possible, with Newcastle due 40 per cent of the profit on any deal.

Hasenhuttl says players heading into the final year of their deals and holding out on making firm decisions on their future is becoming a common thing within the game, including at his own club, with star striker Danny Ings having turned down a new contract.

And he says a lack of money in the game means deals are ‘on hold’.

He told the BBC: “The market is slow.

“At the moment in the transfer market, nobody has money.

“Everybody wants the most money for their players when they sell so it keeps everything on hold. Therefore, a lot of players are letting their contracts run out and leave without money.

“This money is what smaller clubs are missing, it’s going out of of football somewhere else, I don’t know, in the pockets of agents or wherever. This situation is not good for no league in the world.

“You pay a lot of money for players and the extending of contracts gets thwarted not only in our situation but all around the world I see players knowing this, running out clubs for free and this also leads to then finding more money for clubs, they don’t know where it comes.”