Ben Mansford and Neil Critchley tight-lipped on Jerry Yates amid speculation Rotherham have accepted Blackpool's bid

Blackpool chief executive Ben Mansford is keeping tight-lipped about the prospect of signing Rotherham United striker Jerry Yates.
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Reports have surfaced on social media that a six-figure bid has been accepted from Blackpool and an agreement is closed to being finalised.

When asked about the speculation by The Gazette, Mansford could neither confirm or deny if a move was closed to being agreed.

Rotherham striker Jerry YatesRotherham striker Jerry Yates
Rotherham striker Jerry Yates
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He did, however, concede Yates was the sort of player the club were looking to attract to Bloomfield Road.

“I don’t like talking about another club’s player and I would be really frustrated and disappointed if another club spoke about one of our players,” Mansford said.

“What I can say is that a lot of work has been done and he’s the type of player that you would want to attract to your football club.

“We’ve got to respect that he’s another club’s player but when a deal is done, it’ll be on the club website.

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“I would rather talk when a deal is done rather than speculation because, even in these difficult times, these are fluid things.

“I can assure the fans we are working hard to give them a team and a squad to be proud of in the near future.”

Yates, who scored 14 goals during a successful loan spell with Swindon Town last season, has also been linked with a permanent move to the County Ground.

It’s understood Swindon have also tabled a bid for the striker but the Millers are happier with the structure of Pool’s deal.

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Both Swindon boss Richie Wellens and Rotherham manager Paul Warne have spoken openly about Yates’ future in the last few weeks, but Mansford is keen for Blackpool to take a different approach when discussing player recruitment.

“I just don’t see what you get out of talking about other club’s players,” he added.

“It’s actually not right under the regulations. If it’s not tapping up, I don’t know what is.

“There might be a corridor of uncertainty, as Ian Botham would say, just outside off-stump where as clubs we maybe expect a degree of interaction and that agents operate in a sort of way.

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“But when there’s a blatant situation where someone is talking about another club’s player then I think it borders on tapping up and I’d rather not do it.

“Our hard work will get us the results and what we want, not sounding off in the media or trying to put pressure on clubs, players or agents. That’s not going to get us the deal.

“Getting a deal done with a bright, young player is selling them what we’re about and showing them we’re a proper football club and showing them our ambition for the future.

“That will get us players, not chatting in the media.”

Head coach Neil Critchley, meanwhile, also provided a coy response when asked about the forward.

“We are looking at many players, but he’s obviously a Rotherham player at the moment,” he told The Gazette.

“He’s one of many we’re looking at, so we shall see.”