NORWICH City manager Alex Neil insisted the Canaries would not be held to ransom by Cherries over their pursuit of former Dean Court striker Lewis Grabban.

Cherries have tabled three unsuccessful bids for the 27-year-old, the third of which was rejected by the Norfolk outfit ahead of their League Cup win at Rotherham last night.

Grabban was a notable absentee at the New York Stadium – with Mail Online reporting the player had walked out of the team hotel after being told he would be on the bench against the Millers.

Canaries boss Neil refused to be drawn on whether Grabban had left without his permission but said there would only be one winner in the very-public stand-off.

Speaking at his post-match press conference, Neil said: “I don’t have any issue with any players. He might have an issue but I will quickly fix it.

"Regardless of what happens or what rumours are flying about or what others might say or do, that will have absolutely no bearing on what happens with Lewis Grabban or any player at this club.

“We have rejected three bids from Bournemouth so far and the bids that we have had are nowhere near the valuation of the player. Until they get to an acceptable level, Lewis Grabban will remain a Norwich City player. That is where we stand.

“Anything that happens behind closed doors will stay behind closed doors and that will always remain the case while I am manager. As far as I am concerned, the bottom line is he is a Norwich player. Every player has got their price but it has to be our valuation, not what they think.”

The Daily Echo understands Cherries’ third bid to have been in the region of £5.5million with Norwich apparently holding out for around £8m. The Dorset club’s first two offers for Grabban were tabled on Friday and immediately rebuffed by the Canaries.

Grabban left Cherries for Norwich in June 2014 after the Canaries had triggered a £3m release clause in the frontman’s contract.

He was understood to have penned a three-year deal worth around £25,000 a week plus a £1m signing-on fee.

The south Londoner, who joined Cherries for £300,000 from Rotherham in the summer of 2012, made an inauspicious start to his career at Dean Court under Paul Groves and Shaun Brooks.

But Grabban flourished under Eddie Howe and hit 13 goals to help the club finish as runners-up in League One in 2013.

Grabban saw his stock rise sharply after he netted 22 times for Cherries in 2013-14 and finished the campaign as one of the leading goalscorers in the Championship.

His goalscoring exploits also saw him become the first Cherries player in history to bag more than 20 goals in a second-flight campaign, passing Luther Blissett’s total of 19 in 1988-89.