Mick McCarthy is adamant that Cardiff City will only allow Ciaron Brown to depart this summer if an adequate bid was tabled in order for him to replace the centre-back.
The Northern Ireland has been a transfer target for his former manager Neil Warnock up at Middlesbrough and McCarthy has already revealed that the Bluebirds have turned down a bid already from the Teesside club.
And on Thursday it was reported that three other clubs - Ipswich Town, Barnsley and Blackburn Rovers - were also in the hunt for the defender's signature.
And while McCarthy gave a tongue-in-cheek applause to Brown's agent, he made his stance over the centre-back quite clear.
"His agent is doing a good job isn’t he?!" McCarthy said on Friday.
"I did say, and I’m not in the habit of messing around or spreading bull, Middlesbrough offered and it’s not enough.
"If they offer the amount the club wants, then they might decide to sell him.
"If not then he will stay until next year and he will leave on a free transfer if he does not sign a new contract, which he has been offered.
"There has been one other club interested in him, to my knowledge, because I’ve spoken to that club.
"Whether he has got any interest in going there if they do come in with a bid I don’t know. But the bids are nowhere near.
"I saw (Robert) Atkinson went from Oxford to Bristol City and I know he signed a two or three-year deal, but he went for £1.3m. A left-sided centre-back.
"We are not looking at anything like that but they are going to have to bid more than they have to take him!"
McCarthy said that the Bluebirds were happy with their transfer business so far and, as things stand, they would not be looking to make any more signings this summer.
The fact they have made three free transfers and a loan is proof that money is thin on the ground, but the manager also said that, should Brown leave, it would only be if enough cash was offered so that the player could be replaced before the window shuts.
"Warny is not daft by the way! He is double cute! He has been around a lot longer than me," McCarthy added.
"He sees Ciaron Brown as exactly what he did for us last year; left-sided centre-back, left-back and left wing-back.
"If he can get him for what he’s bidding then he’s got a very good player… so why the bloody hell should I sell him to Warny?! Or let him go there unless the recompense gives me the chance to replace him.
"If not, it’s not happening. I can’t be any straighter than that."
In terms of recruitment, more additions appear highly unlikely.
Ronan Curtis, the Portsmouth winger, is one player who the Bluebirds looked at when the window opened, but McCarthy, who managed him with the Irish national team, has said that the player's price tag is a big reason no move has materialised.
"We haven’t got the money to buy him," McCarthy said when asked about interest in the player.
"What is he, £3m? We’re not buying him. We’ve not spent anything this summer.
"We’ve gone with Mark McGuinness, who I think is a really good signing. He has started really well and I’m delighted with that.
"Then we took a loan player and frees. James Collins is a great free for us - as Ryan Wintle will prove to be.
"But we’ve not splashed the cash and we’re not going to do it now."
