BARROW AFC owner Paul Casson revealed the club have turned down an offer for full-back Nick Anderton.

At a bustling fans forum in the Cross Bar, Casson – appearing alongside manager Paul Cox and chief scout Paul Ogden – confirmed the former Preston North End man was the subject of an approach from a League One club last week.

He also revealed there has been interest – though no offers – in Richie Bennett, believed to have come from a League Two side.

Answering a question on whether any other players had been the subject offers following the departure of Jordan Williams to Rochdale, Casson said: “We’ve had an offer for Nick Anderton. We rejected it – it didn’t meet our valuation.

“We haven’t had another offer that meets our valuation. Whether they now come back with one that meets that valuation remains to be seen.

“We’ve also had interest shown in Richie Bennett, but nobody else right now is planning to leave.”

Also at the forum, Casson revealed plans were at an early stage to demolish the Cross Bar and build a new stand at that end of Holker Street – though no dates have been set for that work.

Casson confirmed negotiations were still ongoing over the departure of former assistant manager Gary Simpson from the Bluebirds, while Cox outlined plans for a 22-man squad to be in place for the 2017/18 season.

The pair hope deals will be completed within the next week to bring in the next batch of new signings.

Among more unexpected revelations from the evening was the possibility of a link up with Dutch clubs for players not playing first-team football.