The Glanford Park club have distanced themselves from reports that they have received a £400,000 bid from the Clarets for the Northern Ireland international.

But they anticipate that Owen Coyle will try and tempt United to sell the former Stoke striker.

Scunthorpe's acting chairman Rex Garton has confirmed the Clarets have been in touch with chairman Steve Wharton, who is currently recovering after a heart scare in March, to enquire about the player, and a formal bid is said to be in the offing.

Paterson, 21, moved to Glanford Park last summer from the Britannia Stadium, for an initial, tribunal-set fee of £275,000, which has since risen by £60,000 based on appearances.

He hit 14 goals in a side relegated from the Championship, and it is expected that any successful offer will have to far outweigh £400,000, which would not represent much of a profit on the youngster.

Norwich boss Glenn Roeder was quoted in the region of £800/850,000 in January, and United are in no rush to sell, with Paterson not believed to be among the highest earners at the club, and the club having pocketed close on £3m from Andy Keogh and Billy Sharp's moves.

However, Paterson would fall in line with the blueprint for Coyle's squad rebuilding process.

As he told Express Sport last week: "I want to get some younger legs into the team, but that will come at a cost.

"The reason I say that is that, if you look back over the years, when money has been spent, I think, with all due respect to the players involved, it's been spent on players whose value, at the age their at, there's more chance of it depreciating rather than appreciating.

"I think if we are going to spend money on players, we would hope they're a good age and can get better, and that value would be an asset as opposed to depreciating, and not ever getting the chance to recover that."

Paterson, a raw, pacy young striker, would certainly fit the bill, but it remains to be seen whether Burnley and Scunthorpe can agree on a valuation.

One young forward who has put pen to paper at Turf Moor is Jay Rodriguez.

The Burnley-born 18 year-old's initial one-year contract expired this summer, but he has agreed a new two-year deal.

Rodriguez, who has progressed through the club's youth ranks, went on loan to Scottish First Division side Stirling Albion in January, and he believes that his time north of the border will stand him in good stead as he looks to break into the first team next season.

He said: "I'm really happy to have signed my new deal. It's like a dream come true.

"I really enjoyed my time in Scotland, and it was a great experience for me, which will hopefully help me progress at Burnley and become a better player.

"Pre-season will soon come around and I'm really looking forward to getting it underway.

"We've got a good squad and we're going to give it a good go next season."

Coyle added: "I'm delighted to get Jay signed up on a new deal so he can continue his development.

"I feel he has a chance, but ultimately it is up to him to come back in pre season and prove that he can get in the first team."

Burnley are still waiting to hear from both David Unsworth and James O'Connor over their contract offers, but late on Thursday, striker Andrew Cole confirmed that he had turned down a permanent move.