Sources: Plymouth Argyle rebuff Burnley FC's Morgan Whittaker advances | OneFootball

Burnley's opening offer for Morgan Whittaker is said to fall well below Plymouth's valuation

Burnley have been unsuccessful in their bid to sign Plymouth Argyle's Morgan Whittaker, with their opening offer being dismissed out of hand by Argyle, who are holding out for a healthier fee.

That's according to Plymouth Live, who claim that Argyle have knocked back the Clarets' opening January offer.

Sources close to Football League World can corroborate that claim, and believe the club will return with another offer before the window is out.

Burnley are sitting second in the Championship and are looking to strengthen their squad this month ahead of the promotion run in, which is increasingly looking like a four horse race for the top two spots.

They view Whittaker as someone who can help them in that regard, but Plymouth see their star man in the same way, only they need him to help stave off relegation, so both parties in this deal have a huge need to get Whittaker on board.

This opening January offer from Burnley was probably expected from Plymouth, who won't be overly surprised to see their star man attracting interest again.

Whittaker is someone Burnley twice tried to sign in the summer, and they were unsuccessful on both occasions, with both rebuffed offers being loan deals that then-Plymouth boss Wayne Rooney described as laughable.

Football League World understands that Burnley's latest proposal was a cash offer that is more along the lines of what Plymouth are looking for to part with their star man this month, but the two clubs are still some way apart on their valuations of the 24-year-old, with Argyle viewing Burnley's latest offer as derisory.

Burnley believe they can get a cut-price deal for a player who has struggled for form this season and only just returned from injury, while Plymouth are clinging onto the form Whittaker showed last season in the belief he's a player worth eight figures.

The fact this deal has come back around in January makes it a little more complex, as does the league position of both teams, with the pair still having plenty to play for in the second half of the season.

Plymouth know that their chances of surviving in the second tier are boosted with Whittaker in the team, even accounting for his drop in form this season, but Burnley are trying to use that dip in form as a bartering tool to get him on a cut-price deal.

It's hard to see a way in which this deal gets resolved in the near future given the differing opinions between the two parties, but the fact FLW understands Burnley's latest offer was a cash one, and not a loan to buy, suggests they're getting nearer to meeting Plymouth's demands.