Charlton warned off £6m Beattie

Charlton have been told by Southampton that James Beattie is not available to them at any price.

They were understood to have been ready to launch a £6million bid for the England striker after signs that he wanted to move from St Mary's.

An initial enquiry was made but manager Alan Curbishley has put his offer on hold after being strongly discouraged from following it up.

Southampton were irritated by the interest and while the episode may not lead to a transfer it could spark a new rivalry in the Premiership.

One of Charlton's stated aims is to become established as the biggest club south of the River Thames and trying to sign Beattie showed the extent of their ambition.

But Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe claims they still have some catching up to do.

He said today: "We don't want to sell Beattie and we are a bigger club than Charlton so it would not make any sense.

"I think Beattie's agent has been busy but he is a Southampton player and we want it to stay that way. He has done well for us and and we have done well for him."

The striker was strongly linked with a move to Newcastle before they signed Patrick Kluivert on a free from Barcelona last week and the 26-year-old's agent, Jon Smith, said he would be interested. Beattie has two years left on his contract but selling him would give Southampton manager Paul Sturrock money to spend after signing Peter Crouch from Aston Villa for £2m three weeks ago.