Nearly a month after Bulldogs GM of Football Phil Gould shut down rumours linking Matt Burton with an early exit, coach Cameron Ciraldo has doubled down on the comments surrounding the five-eighth’s future despite reports linking him to at least three rival teams.

Still contracted for another two seasons until the end of 2027, multiple rumours have emerged over the past four weeks that Burton could potentially depart the club earlier than expected.

A two-time NSW Blues representative and five-time international for Australia, the 25-year-old has been one of the club’s best players since he arrived in 2022, and has helped turn the club around, which has seen them go from the bottom of the ladder to premiership contenders.

However, this hasn’t stopped him from continually being linked with a move away from the Blue and Whites, especially with the arrival of Lachlan Galvin and the emergence of Under-19s NSW Blues halfback Mitchell Woods.

Linked with the Gold Coast Titans, North Queensland Cowboys and Perth Bears, Ciraldo has addressed the five-eighth’s future, stating that he will be going nowhere and has no idea where the rumours originated from.

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“I don’t know where that’s coming from. We’ve spoke to Burto about that and he’s got no idea where it’s coming from. I’ve got no idea where it’s come from,” Ciraldo said on Kenty Primetime.

“I’ve known Burto for a long time and he’s still evolving his game as well. He’s still young by playmaking standards, and whether he’s playing five-eighth (or) centre, he did a great job of that in the finals series.

“We love having him there and it’s never been discussed that he’s moving on from his end or our end.”

The comments from Ciraldo come after Gould blasted The Mole from Wide World of Sports, who started the original rumours in early September.

The initial report linked Burton with a move to the Perth Bears, which would have seen him play alongside his brother-in-law Aston Warwick from the Sydney Roosters.

“I have absolutely no idea where that story came from, so much so that I fronted the journalist that originally wrote the story and he admitted that he speculated and made it up,” Gould said on 100% Footy.

“That’s the stuff that we have to deal with every day and we have to mop up that sort of stuff and thankfully we’ve got a great relationship with Matt.

“I showed him the exchange of text messages and he was more than comfortable.

“The rumour actually involved his brother-in-law who’s been playing with the Roosters, they were going in a package deal apparently but neither of them knew anything about it.”