Derek McInnes is anticipating further bids for Aberdeen defender Scott McKenna ahead of next week’s English transfer deadline.
The Dons have already batted off bids from Championship sides Nottingham Forest and Queens Park Rangers, believed to be in the region of £3 million, over the weekend.
Clubs south of the border have until next Thursday to finalise their signings for the new season – two days before competitive action starts in the Premier League.
McKenna has been the subject of interest from a host of clubs in the last 18 months, including Hull City, Swansea, Aston Villa and Celtic, but Dons boss McInnes says he will be an Aberdeen player for at least the next two games.
He said: “There is nothing new on Scott. I spoke to him yesterday and he is just focusing on the game. There is a week to go in the window in England so it will all start to heat up now.
“There is a real possibility that clubs will come back in and every chance there could be more clubs than have been in for him already. We are not encouraging offers but we anticipate there will be other ones.
“Right now, Scott is just concentrating on the next two games and we’ll see what happens next week.
“The valuation is something I don’t know about, that’s for the chairman and the board. The valuation hasn’t been met as it stands, so that’s something I have to leave them to sort out because it’s not me who decides those things.
“I have a high opinion of Scott, I think he’s the best defender this country has and he’ll get to fifty caps pretty quickly. He’s got a lot of attributes and still a lot to learn, but if someone is going to learn it will be him.
“But it’s not my opinion that matters when someone is going to buy him. ”
Defence is an area McInnes is looking to strengthen, given the injury problems currently depriving them of two centre-halves and potentially a full-back.
Ash Taylor tore a hamstring in last week’s Europa League first leg with Chikhura Sachkhere, mirroring the injury suffered by Mikey Devlin a few weeks earlier. Full-back Greg Leigh injured an ankle in pre-season but could be involved for his debut in the second Chikhura game at Pittodrie tonight.
McInnes added: “We need a defender in at the minute because of the injuries we have to Mikey Devlin and Ash Taylor. It was highlighted last week when we had so few defenders available and that puts a real strain on everyone.
“I’m hoping to get another defender and ideally I would like to get someone in place for the Hearts game. But if we need to take our time then so be it.”