By Graeme Dey

DUNDEE UNITED boss Craig Levein last night played down speculation linking striker Noel Hunt with a move to Reading.

The English championship side, who already have Hunt’s brother Stephen on their books, were reported to have failed in a £400,000 move for Hunt.

But while Levein confirmed there had been contact between the clubs he denied there had been any bid tabled, and laughed off the notion United would even contemplate letting the Irishman go for that sort of sum.

“Reading did make an inquiry as to Noel’s availability but we have not had an offer at all,” he said.

“And at the level that has been mentioned we wouldn’t be interested.

“Everyone has their price.

“But we aren’t looking to sell Noel nor would we welcome bids for him.’’

Meanwhile, Setanta are to screen United’s pre-season clash with Barcelona on Saturday, July 26.

Aberdeen have secured a record breaking £250,000 shirt sponsorship deal with city Team Recruitment.

But the Pittodrie club’s managing director Duncan Fraser insists that does not mean more money for Jimmy Calderwood’s rebuilding plans.

The Dons manager has already added four players to the squad and intends to sign another five new players before the team return for pre-season training at the end of the month.

His aim is to build on last season’s run to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup and a fourth successive top half finish in the SPL, which heightened the profile of the club again.

Fraser admits that is the major factor in attracting the lucrative two-year-deal, but the money brought in will not be treated as a bonus when it comes to strengthening the squad.

He said, “We have known about this agreement for some time and the revenue has been factored into our overall budget.

“The football budget now compared to when Jimmy Calderwood joined the club is £1 million larger.

“How that is spent is entirely for the manager to decide.

“What this agreement allows us to do is to maintain the football budget at that level for the foreseeable future.

“It is not about providing a huge new pot of gold.”

DUNDEE remain keen to land Livingston striker Robert Snodgrass.

The Dark Blues thought they had got their man a fortnight ago, only for the player to ask for more time to consider his future.

But chief executive Dave MacKinnon revealed yesterday that Snodgrass remains a target.

“Out interest in Robert is on-going,” he said.

“He is a talented individual who would fit in perfectly with the team pattern we want next season and there aren’t many players who could play the role we have in mind for him to fill.”

Dundee hope to finalise the signing of defender Chris Innes before the weekend.

But MacKinnon warned they will not allow that particular piece of business to become a long drawn out saga.

“I’d like to think we could get the deal done over the next couple of days but if not then it’s just not meant to be.

“And we do have other options.

“There are alternatives to Chris and I mean alternatives rather than second choices.

“When you are looking to fill a gap in your squad you invariably have a number of things on the go.

“One may come to fruition sooner than the others and you end up going down that road.

“But that doesn’t necessarily mean the other players aren’t just as good.’’