Sean Dyche not "over-thinking" James Tarkowski speculation

West Ham have had two offers for the 27-year-old knocked back, the last worth up to £30m, while there were stories on Thursday suggesting the Hammers had upped the down payment to £25m with an overall offer worth £31m.

Rumours of a third 'bid' are believed to be wide of the mark, but the chatter was increased with the England international not being in the 18 for the Carabao Cup second round tie with Sheffield United.

Dyche afterwards explained he had a toe injury, and said again he hopes he will be fit for the Premier League opener at Leicester City - long-time admirers of Tarkowski - on Sunday:

"He has a badly bruised toe.

"The problem with toes is they can be painful and we will wait and see if that settles for Sunday."

As regards the speculation, asked whether it had turned the player's head, Dyche added: "We offer the players a way of working that we think works for them and the team and they buy into it, he has certainly done that and is still doing it.

"There is no over thinking it from my point of view.

"He is a player that I definitely want to be here and unless something happens that is out of my control financially then he will be here

"He is maturing and continues to do so.

"I thought he had an excellent season last season, there is absolutely no surprise to me that people are interested, that is what happens when you are a good footballer at a good club.

"I think the market dictates (the price).

"It is fair to say if you tried to use some of the markers in the market then he is worth a considerable amount of money when you think what some of the centre halves have been going for."