BURY have rejected a £500,000 bid for star striker James Vaughan.

The Shakers are very keen to keep hold of the former Huddersfield and Birmingham hitman but face a struggle if any club comes back in with a larger offer.

Vaughan has attracted much attention, from England and overseas, after netting 24 times last campaign, but until his valuation is met Bury will stand firm to keep hold of their forward.

“We have had two or three offers for James Vaughan but none have been near our valuation,” manager Lee Clark told Bury Times.

“The latest and highest one so far was not a written one, but one over the phone. The bid was in the region of £500,000 but that was nowhere near our valuation.

“We don’t want to let James go but we know everyone has a price and if a bid comes in that we can’t turn down then we have contingency plans in place.”

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Ben Williams and midfielder Neil Danns have been told they can leave the club.

Danns currently has one-year left on his contract after signing last summer from Bolton Wanderers, but the 34-year-old spent the majority of last season on loan at Blackpool where he helped them to promotion after victory in the League Two play-off final.

Williams, also 34, was another one of previous manager David Flitcroft's summer signings last year that did not work out, initially claiming the number one jersey after arriving from Bradford but later falling behind Rob Lainton and then Joe Murphy in the pecking order.

Both he and Danns have been told they will be released from their contracts if they can find regular football elsewhere.

Clark added: “Neil has been out on loan and did very well for Blackpool. We congratulated him when he got back because it was a fantastic achievement winning promotion.

“But we had a conversation with him and Ben Williams and told them they are more than fine to speak to other clubs.

“I couldn’t guarantee them both game time next season and for the good of their futures I recommended they pursue other avenues.”