Chester FC chairman Simon Olorenshaw has rubbished claims former manager Steve Burr was blocked in the transfer market because a 'confidant' did not believe the target was right for the club.
An article in the Non-League Paper on Sunday alleged Burr's bid to sign Jordan Williams from Northwich Victoria was vetoed based on advice from a third party.
Williams subsequently moved to divisional rivals Barrow for an undisclosed fee and scored both goals in a 2-1 win against Chester last month .
Burr was sacked on April 7 following a concerning run of form stretching back several months that left the fan-owned club battling against relegation.
The article in the Non-League Paper read: "Despite their bad form, Burr's departure has raised eyebrows among other non-league managers with suggestions the former Kidderminster boss was frustrated with the committee's vision and recruitment process, while loan signings were freebies and favours even though they enjoyed an FA Cup run last season.
"The Blues also missed out on Jordan Williams from Northwich because a confidant of chairman Simon Olorenshaw felt he didn't fit the bill. He eventually moved to Barrow and scored against them twice."
READ: Timeline of Steve Burr's tenure as Chester manager
However, Olorenshaw told The Chronicle the allegations were untrue and that Williams was not someone the board had been asked to approve a move for.
He confirmed another player from Northwich - believed to be Richie Bennett - had been discussed but said due to the transfer fee required the manager's request had been turned down, insisting the decision was completely financial.
Although the third party mentioned in the article was not named, it is understood to be a reference to the club's former boss Neil Young, who is a colleague of Olorenshaw at Merseyrail.
Olorenshaw said he had never spoken about transfer targets with Young or anyone else outside of the club.
"I was disappointed with the article and totally refute the suggestions within it," said Olorenshaw, adding part of last term's FA Cup income had gone towards increasing the playing budget for the current season.
READ: Chairman Simon Olorenshaw 'very impressed' with interest in managerial vacancy
"We supported Steve as manager as much as we could and wherever possible gave him what he was looking for. The playing budget for this season was actually increased using some of the revenue from last season's FA Cup run.
"There was nobody making decisions in the background and Jordan Williams isn't a player who was ever on our radar as far as I know.
"There was another player at Northwich who Steve was interested in but there was a fee involved and that wasn't something we could do. That was a purely financial decision the operations board made, not anybody else."
