Southend United manager Phil Brown has dismissed speculation linking goalkeeper Daniel Bentley with a switch to Championship club Brentford, writes Chris Phillips.

The Bees, who are set to lose back-up keeper Richard Lee when he hangs up his gloves at the end of the season, were reported to have tabled a £500,000 offer for the highly rated shot-stopper.

But Brown maintains no offers have been made for the Wickford-based 21-year-old.

“There have been no bids for Daniel and it’s not true we’ve turned down an offer from Brentford for him,” confirmed Brown.

The young shot-stopper has again caught the eye for the Shrimpers this season, keeping four clean sheets in his last five games.

Preston North End, Bristol City and Nottingham Forest are also believed to be tracking his availability.

Meanwhile, Brentford have reportedly had a bid in the region of £1m rejected by Sporting De Gijon for Columbian defender Bernardo Espinosa.

Bees boss Mark Warburton is pushing for back-to-back promotions and has targeted a Premier League spot following their strong start to the season.

They are now fifth place in the Championship and are hunting for defensive reinforcements, but Sporting are determined to keep hold of the 25-year-old.

Sporting are in a similar position to Brentford and are third in the second tier of Spanish football and fear losing any first team players will decrease their chances of promotion.