Marseille have tabled a second offer for Jon Rowe but it remains below Norwich City’s valuation for the England Under-21 international.

The French giants are believed to have followed up their initial bid with a revised deal, structured around a loan with an obligation to buy, for a figure still short of where City value Rowe.

Reports in France on Wednesday night the clubs are moving closer to an agreement are wide of the mark.

OM made contact again late on Wednesday afternoon, but Roberto De Zerbi’s club will have to up their interest for City to consider sanctioning Rowe’s departure ahead of the August deadline.

Marseille’s initial approach towards the end of last week, reported in the media as an £8m enquiry, led to Rowe informing head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup he was not in the right frame of mind to feature in the Championship opener at Oxford.

Rowe, who is under contract until 2025 but City have an additional one year option, was also absent for Tuesday’s League Cup win over Stevenage, after talks with Thorup which saw him demoted to the Under-21s.

The City head coach made it clear after the game Rowe is not under consideration for Blackburn’s weekend Championship visit.

“It's a tough, tough decision, and it's a tough learning curve,” Thorup told the Pinkun. “But I can only focus on the team, or the players that are 100pc committed to be here, that are 100pc committed to perform for this fantastic club and for the fans and everyone supporting this club. That's where my focus is.

“It will never be a matter of names or quality or anything like that. It's only about culture in a club, and to be 100pc committed, and if you're not, then you cannot be a part of the team. And that was the decision we took. And at the moment, John is with the Under-21s.

“The best players in the history of football also made mistakes. So I think it's fair to say that if we see some behaviours from Jonny that are on the right path, and what we expect from a professional football player representing Norwich City, then, of course, at some point, we need to take another decision and have a conversation with him again on how we can take another step and how we can go forward.

“But, for now, I focus on the team and the players that are committed. That's where my focus will always be. We have a huge obligation to the fans and everyone supporting this club that wherever, and whenever we play, we have committed players who want to perform.”

The Canaries have already made it clear this summer they will only sanction departures for the right prices.

Gabby Sara moved to Galatasaray for a package that could rise to above £22m, while Adam Idah completed his protracted move to Celtic on Wednesday for a guaranteed £8.5m, with a further £1m in potential add ons, plus a 15pc sell on fee.

Norwich have targeted Turkish striker Bertuğ Yildirim as Idah’s potential replacement, with talks now at an advanced stage between all parties.