Boss Roy Keane today declined to name the club that has been in for the versatile defender, who has been linked with Wolves and former club Stoke City.

But he said the bid was way short of the value on Higginbotham's head.

Keane said: "We had a bid for Danny which we turned down last week.

"We paid good money for him and since then he has played more than 20 Premier League games.

"Anyone thinks his value has halved, has another think coming.

"He has done very well for us in pre-season, has looked good in training in the first few weeks of this season and he's a good squad player."

But one defender on his way out of the Stadium of Light is Russell Anderson, who is expected to join Burnley today on a season-long loan.

A £1m signing from Aberdeen in June last year, he dropped down in the pecking order after a serious ankle injury wrecked most of his debut campaign.

Anderson did well on loan at Plymouth last term and is on his way back to the Championship.

Keane said: "Russell needs to play games.

"He's not getting them here and this is a good move for him.

"He played very well on loan at Plymouth last season and this is a chance for him to get more games under his belt."