VALENTINE Holmes feels unwanted at the Cronulla Sharks.

That’s the only way to interpret his astounding comment on Thursday, in which he admitted to being blindsided by coach Shane Flanagan slamming the door on his potential move to the Cowboys.

LIVE Stream every game of every round of the 2018 NRL Telstra Premiership on FOX SPORTS. SIGN UP NOW.

“I didn’t think he was that keen on me,” Holmes said.

That was in response to Flanagan publicly refusing to give the 22-year-old up.

“Over my dead body. There’s no way in the world I’ll be letting him go before the end of his deal,” Flanagan told NRL.com.

“He will definitely be here next year and hopefully a lot longer.

“We’re in the process of trying to extend him. We’re in negotiations and we’ve spoken to Val and his manager. As soon as he comes out of Origin we’ll be having another conversation about it.”

Holmes added: “Yeah he obviously wants me to stay at the club and I’ve still got two more years there.

“So there is a lot of talk at the moment but I’m not really in with that just leaving it up to my management and the club. But yeah like I said I’ve still got next year and the option for 2020.”

Pressed on his interest on returning to his home town of Townsville, Holmes made it clear that’s where his heart is telling him to go.

“Oh definitely (there’s desire to go back to Townsville). Obviously mum and dad are up there, my family’s there and they’re getting old and sort of moving on, you know they’re not really working at the moment so it would be good to see them every now and then and let them come to more games more often.

“They don’t really get to come to games except when I play up there, and obviously if I’m playing Origin they come.

“But obviously I’d love to see them if I could a bit more often but if it isn’t meant to be I can see them a bit later.”

He said rumours of a return to the Sharks for Ben Barba, and Lachlan Coote being moved on by the Cowboys, have less of a bearing on his decision.

“I don’t know how all that’s working, I think Bennys still got another year over there and I don’t know how clubs let a player out of contract, like Flanno said he won’t release me so yeah I’m just going to stick out this contract and see how we go.”