Albion have turned down a third Burnley bid for Dale Stephens – plus another from an unidentified club.

The Argus understands the Seagulls have firmly rejected a total of four offers for Stephens, whose absence from pre-season action on Saturday set alarm bells ringing among fans.

Burnley are seeking a replacement for Joey Barton and, though their manager Sean Dyche was on the defensive on Saturday, are known to be tracking Stephens and Derby star Jeff Hendrick.

Albion could face a battle to hold on to one of their pivotal players with the Clarets yet to make any real dent in the financial riches secured by their return to the Premier League.

But the Seagulls would appear to be determined to stand their ground.

Stephens is suspended for the Championship opener at Derby, giving Albion a little extra time to get him fit after taking a blow to the knee at Crawley nine days ago.

He did not feature in friendlies at Stevenage and Luton on Saturday, following on from his absence at Aldershot last week.

Boss Hughton said: “Dale will miss the first game (at Derby) and he has to come back in. He should be available for Tuesday (tomorrow).

“One thing I can categorically say is he wanted to play (on Saturday). It was us who stopped him because we felt we would give him the extra day on the recovery.”

Hughton believes Albion have a solid base for the coming season if they keep their prize assets He said: “We are only a touch short of where we want to be. We are certainly in a far better position numbers-wise than we were last pre-season.”

Burnley will be under pressure to make a flying start to their Premier League return with five of their first seven fixtures being at Turf Moor.

But they have been puzzlingly quiet in the market so far this summer.

Dyche said: “We’re still working. The chairman is hopefully working on a few things and we’ll see what develops from there.

“There are a number of things. We try to do our business privately and discreetly when we can.”