Swindon dispute Portsmouth claim over striker bid

Portsmouth claim they made a £1million bid for striker Charlie Austin which was rejected on transfer deadline day, but Swindon totally disagree.

Portsmouth administrator Andrew Andronikou has said that his club actually tabled an offer for the 21-year-old, which was snubbed last Tuesday.

Andronikou told The News: "The owners put in a £1m bid for Charlie Austin and that was turned down.

"They want to bring some young players into the club and had identified him as a quality player."

But Swindon chairman Andrew Fitton, who has always maintained that Austin is not for sale, has been left in a state of disbelief by Andronikou's understanding of the value of the offer.

Fitton said: "I can absolutely categorically deny they put in a bid of £1m for Charlie Austin.

"And I am appalled at them putting out a story saying that.

"They mentioned a figure, but it didn't reach £1m and I have got the text to prove it.

"I'm not going to say who the text is from, but it proves what that figure was and I could really embarrass them."