'Silly money' takes Wigan off Ashton trail

"We've asked but with the price they're asking, it's silly money as they don't want to sell him," Wigan's manager Paul Jewell said. "I understand that. Just because we're doing well and because the chairman [Dave Whelan] has got a few quid, I'm not going to pay too far over the odds for players. At that price we won't be interested."

Ashton, 22 last month, was Norwich's record signing in January when he joined for £3m from Crewe Alexandra. He scored seven goals in 16 Premiership games and has scored 10 in 25 Championship matches this season.

Jewell expressed relief that Jason Roberts has avoided disciplinary action following an alleged elbow on West Ham's James Collins. The referee Steve Bennett saw it but took no action. The Football Association can only look into video evidence if the officials miss the incident.

"If the FA are not charging Jason then we are delighted with that," said Jewell. "It didn't look good on television. Jason is not that type of lad anyway. On the other hand, if it had been a player who doesn't have a great disciplinary record, it might have been viewed differently."