Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson hasn’t been pressuring striker Louis Moult into signing a new contract at Fir Park, but he says that talks between the club and the player are ongoing.
Robinson remains hopeful that Moult will not only stay at the club for the coming season, but commit his future beyond that to Fir Park too, although he isn’t about to twist his arm into putting pen to paper.
There has been concrete interest in Moult from various clubs over the summer, with Aberdeen having two bids rejected so far after failing to meet the Steelmen’s valuation of their star forward.
The striker has scored two stunning free-kicks after climbing off the bench in the last two Betfred Cup games as he continues his recovery from groin surgery.
But Robinson says his concern is getting Moult fit for the new campaign, rather than any increase to his valuation that his cameo displays so far may have earned.
“I’m not too worried about what other clubs do or think,” Robinson said. “All I know is that he’s a Motherwell player until somebody tells me otherwise or puts an offer in, and he’ll be 100% committed to Motherwell.
“I don’t want to sell Louis Moult, I’ve made that very clear, and I’ve made that very clear to him by putting a contract offer on the table and continuing to speak to him about that.
“Whether he signs that or he doesn’t, it’s entirely up to the boy. I have a brilliant relationship with him, and as I’ve mentioned numerous times, he’s loved around the place by the staff, the crowd and the players.
“We’re building a team to make sure that he stays, if he doesn’t we’ll deal with that, but while he is here he is very much a part of what we are doing.
“I’ve spoken to him, but at this moment in time he hasn’t signed [the contract]. He’s not been banging down my door and I’ve not been grabbing him by the hair and pulling him in every day.
“It’s on the table, we’ve made it very clear that we can’t go any more money-wise, and it’s something that Louis is considering at the minute. We’ll keep talking.”
When pushed on whether Moult had given him any indication as to his thinking, Robinson said: “Not at the moment, no, all I know is that he’s available for us next season as a Motherwell player and we’ve had no offers to us that would suggest otherwise.
“Hopefully that doesn’t happen. I want to keep Louis Moult at this football club.”
Midfielder Chris Cadden has meanwhile said that an offer to secure his services from Hearts this summer was a compliment, but he is happy to remain a Motherwell player for the foreseeable future.
Ahead of the Betfred Cup clash tonight at Edinburgh City, Cadden said: “It didn’t bother me. The gaffer pulled me in and said they’d made a bid but it wasn’t enough, and that was that.
“I’m flattered that people have put their money down, it shows I must be doing something right, but I’m a Motherwell player, I’ve two years of my contract to go and I’m enjoying it here. I think this is the right place for me.”
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