'Not much more to say' - Doncaster Rovers boss confirms rejected bid from Preston North End for Ben Whiteman

As reported by the Free Press, Rovers turned down bids from a pair of Championship clubs, understood to be Preston North End and Queens Park Rangers, neither of which came close to meeting the valuation for Whiteman.

When Moore met the media ahead of the FA Cup tie with Blackburn Rovers this weekend, he was asked whether potential replacements had been identified, should Whiteman depart this month.

But he was not interested in addressing the issue, reiterating that he is focused on the 24-year-old being a part of his squad.

“Truth be told, we feel that Ben is part of the group,” Moore said.

“He’s a Doncaster Rovers player and whilever he is, we’ll maintain to work with him as best as we can.

“There are parts of his game that he’s added to which from our point of view when we spoke in pre-season about it, it’s good to see.

“With those parts of his game that he has improved on, it’s probably why the interest is there.

“It’s great for Ben and it’s great for there.

“Whilever the interest is out there, I don’t focus on it too much because he’s still our player and I won’t focus on it until told otherwise.

“He’s trained today as normal and he’s cracked on as normal. So, onwards.”

Moore did say he would hope to be in a position to be able to replace Whiteman if he was to depart at any stage but, again, opted against discussing the issue in much detail.

He said: “He’s a huge component for us in terms of where we’re going so you would like to think that.

“But at the moment we don’t need a midfield player because we’ve got ours.

“Other clubs need midfield players but we’ve got ours.

“At the moment there is no point even speaking about it.

“Preston have made an offer and the offer has been rejected from the club and there’s not much more to really say about it.

“At the moment he’s part of the group.”

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In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.