DEBRY County have allegedly told Cherries to double their bid for Tom Lawrence – and pay the entirety of the £500,000 transfer fee upfront.

Cherries have taken a key interest in the Welsh international, with Lawrence a bright spark in a County side fighting for their lives on and off the pitch.

UPDATE: Rams boss Rooney claims he has been told Lawrence won't leave this window

Conflicting reports had previously stated that Derby had blocked any moves for their club captain, with the chance of Championship survival still in the balance.

The Daily Mirror have reported that Derby’s administrators, Quantuma, have told Cherries than a supposed initial bid of £250,000 is insufficient.

It should come as no surprise that a club in the situation Derby find themselves in are desperate for any transfer fee to be paid in full, with the Rams requiring £5m to survive until the end of the season according to reports.

Earlier rumours had suggested that at one point in the season Derby were willing to part with the Welshman for nothing, with Lawrence amongst the highest earners at Pride Park.

A fire sale of players this window has somewhat strengthened Derby’s position, but Premier League clubs are eyeing up starlets Jason Knight and Festy Ebosele, who could both fetch bigger fees than Lawrence, who reportedly has six months left on his deal.

The price banded about by the Mirror could prove to be a bargain, with leading stats website transfermarkt.com values the 28-year-old at £4.5m, with numerous clubs and agents using the platform in transfer negotiations.

Cherries managed to pick up Ryan Christie for a bargain on deadline day last year, and will be hoping to perform a similar trick with the signing of Tom Lawrence.

When asked about Lawrence in his press conference on Thursday, Cherries boss Scott Parker stated: “I wouldn’t want to comment on anyone’s players, any individual players. I just wouldn’t want to, in respect of that.

“I feel that we need to improve certain areas – attacking areas of the pitch are where we need to get to, or we need to look at.

“They are the areas we are looking at. Regarding any certain individuals it’s not something I will be willing to sit here and do out of respect for the clubs and players.

“What I can say is there are areas which we are looking.

“I can tell the fans we are trying our hardest and the people in those places – scouts, recruitment departments, ownership, we are doing all we can to get bodies in to help us.”