Watford boss Sean Dyche: Newcastle bid for Adrian Mariappa rejected as 'nowhere near' our valuation

Watford boss Sean Dyche has confirmed that the club have rejected Newcastle’s bid for his captain Adrian Mariappa and has warned that his players will only be sold for an appropriate price.

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The Magpies' bid was believed to be in the region of £750,000, with add-ons taking the fee up to £2 million, well short of Watford’s valuation of the player.

Dyche accused Premier League sides of showing a lack of respect towards clubs in lower leagues developing players and says that his side are not in a position to have to accept the first bid that comes in for a player.

"Big clubs should go about their business in an appropriate manner," Dyche told reporters.

"Unfortunately, as is often the case these days, their offer is nowhere near our valuation. That's the awkward side of the game now, and they do it for their own reasons.

"I couldn't begin to tell you how far away it was - my son's got more in his money box.

"If clubs at our level are helping to develop players, I think it's fair to say that big clubs with money should respect that and go about it in an appropriate manner.

"Rather than tickling us with offers which are nowhere near the player's worth, to try to provoke a reaction from us, we do not need to accept the first bid that comes along.

"When you think about Conor Wickham being sold [to Sunderland] for £7.5m, and Matt Mills going to Leicester for £5.5m, that's the going rate for players moving in and around our division, and we have to pitch in accordingly."

Another Watford player on the lips of many a Premier League club lately has been Marvin Sordell.

Both Blackburn and Fulham have been suggested as potential suitors for the 20-year-old, with Southampton and West Ham also said to be interested.

Dyche has taken a similar stance on the young forward’s future, warning his rivals that it will take a considerable offer to lure the player away from Vicarage Road.

"Again, the loose talk we've heard about Marvin has been so far short of his value it's not even worth considering," he added.