Brentford believe they have made progress on agreeing a new deal with captain Harlee Dean.
The defender is out of contract in 12 months time and the Bees have a history of allowing players to leave in the final year of their deal rather than see them walk for nothing.
And Brentford co-director of football Rasmus Ankersen has confirmed the club are holding talks with the captain and his representatives over a new contract and has been impressed with how Dean has improved over the season.
He told GetWestLondon: “We're still in conversations with the players that have a year left on their deal.
"It's natural for any player to see what other options they have but I feel that Harlee loves the club and the fans and we think the progress he's made has been impressive.
“We hope he'll be here next season. We're not a club that can pay the premium salaries so it's natural when a player has a year left on their contract they explore other options.
"We've had a good contract talk with Harlee as well as Lasse. We'll see.”
Dean has made over 245 appearances for the Bees since first joining in November 2011.
