Gillingham have told Brentford to increase their offer for out of contract defender John Egan.

The Championship side look set to secure the Irishman’s signature later this week but a compensation figure is now likely to be set by a transfer tribunal.

Gillingham are able to demand money for the player, despite his contract expiring this month, as he is under the age of 24 and they have offered him increased terms on his current deal.

Gills boss Justin Edinburgh, confirming the negotiations have been ongoing, said: “They made an offer which didn’t meet our valuation and we made them aware of what we valued him at. If that can’t be met then the fee gets set by a tribunal.”

The Professional Football Compensation Committee will agree a fee for the player, in compensation for training and development. The figure that they decide upon is non-negotiable.

Brentford have for a long time been the likely destination of the 23-year-old central-defender, who has spent the last two seasons at Gillingham following his release by Sunderland.

He joined the Gills for first team football in 2014deadline-day bid for Egan last season but were rebuffed by the Gills, who were then embroiled in a promotion battle. But two weeks later Egan suffered a training ground injuryEdinburgh admitted their efforts had been in vain. Prior to that former manager Peter Taylor attempted to broker a deal.

, rejecting moves elsewhere in a bid to get minutes on the field, a decision that has paid off. He played 81 games for Gillingham in League 1 during that period.

Brentford made a

, ruling him out for a month.

The Gills have been negotiating with Egan’s representatives over a new deal since last summer but, in May,