The Clarets have registered their interest in the 21-year-old Northern Ireland international striker with Iron chairman Steve Wharton.

Acting chairman Rex Garton revealed yesterday that no bid has yet been made for the former Stoke man, although the Glanford Park club were expecting one, believed to be in the region of £400,000.

However, after relegation from the Championship, Garton insists Scunthorpe want to keep their best players for an assault on promotion: "We are trying to build a squad for next season – not dismantle one.

"Yes, our chairman Steve Wharton has received a telephone call from a representative at Burnley.

"But we have made it clear that we do not want to sell Martin Paterson.

"And to the best of my knowledge, we have received no written offer from Burnley for him.

Should Burnley test the water, £400,000 is not close to United's valuation of the player, who hit 14 goals after moving last summer for a fee of £275,000, which has already risen a further £60,000 due to appearances, and Garton added: "We have had to pay more than that (£400,000) to bring Martin here from Stoke.

"Any offer like that would not be worth considering."

And Garton insists the Iron are in no rush to sell, despite only a brief stay in the Championship: "Relegation from the Championship will mean a reduction in league revenue of between £1.5million and £1.75million.

"But we are in a happy situation where we do not have to sell, and are not looking to do so.

"We want to keep our best players here at Glanford Park because we want to have a successful season in League 1."