'˜We're not looking to put a price on, or sell, Will Grigg,' says Wigan Athletic boss after latest Sunderland offer rejected

The 27-year-old was an unused substitute against Aston Villa last weekend, which would have given Sunderland renewed hope that a deal could be done.

But Cook has reiterated his stance Grigg remains a key member of his squad and not actively for sale.

“It’s sad football these days, with the way the market’s going,” the Latics boss said.

“But I can only reiterate what I said last week to our supporters.

“Everybody has a price, and I can’t say to our supporters that Will Grigg will not leave this football club.

“What I can say is that we are not actively looking to sell Will Grigg.

“We’re not looking to lose players, we’re looking to bring in players.

“Sunderland, I believe, have made two offers now, and they both fell short of where we would be with regards to Will Grigg.

“It’s a debate I really don’t want to have but, until the window closes at the end of the month, this won’t go away.”

Cook does not even want to get involved in making public his own valuation, for fear of being seen to encourage interest,

“I’m not even comfortable talking about this, because I don’t want the story to become: ‘Wigan are putting a price on Will Grigg’,” he explained.

“We’re not looking to put a price on Will, we’re not trying to sell Will.

“Sunderland have come in for a player and we can’t stop that.

“As a manager I can only reiterate that I have no desire to sell Will.

“I’m sure Will would be disappointed with his lack of game-time at the moment, but that’s in no way to do with the situation we’re in.

“Nothing could be further from the truth. But that’s more to do with personnel out on the pitch and style of play.”

Grigg, who joined Latics from Brentford for £1million in the summer of 2015, has 18 months left on his contact.