BY IAIN COLLIN – @CCP_sport
Peter Houston insists highly-rated teenager Ryan Blair should seek to establish himself as a first-team player at Falkirk before even considering moving on from the club.
Houston yesterday rejected reports the Bairns have received a substantial six-figure bid for the midfielder from Swansea City.
The English Premier League outfit have already signed Jay Fulton, Stephen Kingsley and Botti Biabi from Falkirk, as well as Adam King from Hearts, and it was suggested their latest swoop on the club involved a £200,000 fee that could eventually rise to £600,000.
However, Houston is adamant there has been no offer for the 19-year-old, who has made just nine appearances for the Bairns and is awaiting his first league start.
The former Scotland number two said: “Trust me when I say there is no bid for any of our players.
“If there was a bid for Ryan Blair the board of directors would be getting excited and wanting to talk to me about it.
“But I’ve spoken to one of the board and it’s absolute nonsense – and they wouldn’t hide it from me.
“He’s a good young talented player but I would be surprised if there was interest in Ryan because he’s started just three first-team matches.
“If they were interested in Craig Sibbald, I could see the point. But how can they be interested in a boy who has only started three games for this club?
“Ryan has to go and play a right number of games before he should even consider wanting to move on.”
