Speculation was rife last week that the Clarets faced competition from a number of Premier League clubs to sign Hearts winger Andrew Driver.
The 22 year old was reported to be one of Brian Laws targets with both STV and BBC Sport suggesting we had put in a £1.5 million bid for the winger.
However it is understood that Hearts want over double that amount. Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov is reported to have put a £4m price tag on their key player.
Hearts manager Jim Jefferies also stated this week that he was unaware of any bid for Andrew Driver by the club.
Jefferies told the Daily Record:
‘Nobody has told me anything about a bid from Burnley for Andy or offers from any other clubs for that matter,’
‘It may well be the case that an offer has been made, but it is news to me.
‘I’m not saying that there has not been interest in the player because everybody can see that the lad is a great talent.
‘Any offers for players will have to be discussed by the relevant football people including the manager.’
It then began to look even bleaker for the Clarets when it was reported that mega-bucks Chelsea were also in the hunt to sign the impressive winger. It was understood they would be willing to take him on loan for a period with a view to then making a permanent offer of £5 million. The speculation though appears to have been wide of the mark.
According to various media reports, West Ham, Wigan Athletic, Middlesbrough and Holland’s FC Twente have been in contact with Hearts as well about a possible move despite denials by Jefferies.
At this point most Clarets fans had probably moved on thinking our interest was dead in the water but news today in the Lancashire Telegraph suggest otherwise.
It would appear the Clarets have doubled their offer to £3 million and are now in the DRIVER’s seat to sign him!
The paper also writes that Operational Director Brendan Flood is believed to have been involved in discussions with Driver`s agent, and that a deal could be agreed as early as next week.
This could be a case of third time lucky afterall for the Clarets after two failed bids previously by former gaffer, Owen Coyle in previous summers.
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