It is always the same at this time of the year and indeed in every transfer window, summer or winter! Clarets fans have to endure the ‘pleading poverty` platitudes of club and gaffer as targets come and go and other clubs beat us to it! This year the excuse is the market, with some players going for ‘silly money` and Burnley unable to compete despite now being a Premier League outfit and having the reassurance of parachute payments and TV revenues reportedly worth £120 million should things not work out.
The problem this season for those looking to the club for more balls and ambition in the money department is that our success last season was done without any! That will now for ever more be used against us even though one successful season in the Championship seems to count for more than the three previous seasons of mediocrity with no spending despite the parachute payment crutch!
Are we seriously saying this club can`t afford a £7-£8 million player? We want the players to come but clearly other clubs have more dosh to chuck around including those like Leicester and Palace who could be in competition with Burnley for survival in the top flight this season.
Maybe the players are not worth that amount but if your rivals to avoid relegation think so then so should we. We have yet another chance to become an established Premier League club at least for more than one season but let`s give the gaffer a chance and not kick his crutch away!
The latest disappointment appears to be James McArthur! Burnley were obviously keen to bring him to Turf Moor with reports that a £4million offer was made for the Wigan midfielder. The offer was rejected by Wigan and reports suggested this week that he was about to join Leicester for £7 million although to date despite reports he was having a medical there has been no official confirmation. Crystal Palace too under new gaffer, Neil Warnock also appear to have shown some interest this week so it looks like a bidding war could be in progress but one in which sadly Burnley will not be taking part because this sort of money is out of their bracket! Geez!!
Burnley clearly do not have the depth of squad they would like, even Sean Dyche admits that! Certain areas such as the centre of defence and central midfield are clearly going to be a problem this season unless we can provide cover and improved quality. But the clock is ticking down and the transfer deadline day of Monday 1st September is fast approaching and there are still no new signings on the horizon despite the reports that Sean Dyche was hoping to make a signing ahead of the United game this Saturday! It`s now 7pm on Friday! The position is made worse by the fact that Premier League clubs do not have loan options either. The squad they have on the close of business on Monday is what they will have to work with until the January 2015 transfer window opens in the New Year!
The links continue to flow through the media but do the fans have any confidence in the club that they can deliver amidst a barrage of excuses? No other club in the Premier League seems to be whining to this extent about the market but the fact remains at the moment Burnley are losing out and it could have significant consequences for our survival in the top flight unless of course you believe we can do it again like last season albeit a level higher in the most prestigious league in the world! We have spent less so far than even Coyle did in 2009-10 before he jumped ship and disaster struck! It would be nice to yo-yo if we can`t stay up but Burnley`s last attempt took four seasons to get back with the yo-yo strings intact! There has to be a better way, the fans deserve it!
So who have we been linked with this week?
Back on the table appears to be Richard Keogh but already reports are coming in that Derby have rejected a bid from Burnley worth in the region of £1.5m. The Republic of Ireland international defender is in the final year of his current contract at the iPro Stadium. Keogh joined the Rams from Coventry City in July 2012 for a fee believed to be in excess of £1million. It would appear though that Derby boss Steve McClaren though appears keen to keep hold of his captain suggesting contract extension talks are in progress:
“Negotiations are ongoing and, hopefully, they will be concluded soon.
“Richard Keogh is a big part of this football club, he is the captain.
“The way he plays is kind of special for us. He can come out and play. He can defend, is a good all-rounder and a good leader.’
A new player linked this week (pictured above) is Southampton`s centre half Jos Hooiveld. Sources close to St Mary`s though believe any departures would be unlikely until sufficient cover was brought in. However the 31-year-old is already behind Jose Fonte, Florin Gardos and Maya Yoshida in the pecking order and is out of contract next summer so a move could be on the cards. The Dutch player started his career in Holland playing for the likes of Heerenveen and Zwolle (on loan) before going to Austria to play for Kapfenberger SV. Finland then beckoned with Inter Turku and then Sweden with AIK Stockholm. He moved to Scottish Premier League side Celtic in January 2010 but after one year was loaned out to Danish Superliga club Copenhagen. In December 2011 he made a permanent move to Southampton for an undisclosed fee following an earlier loan spell and has since made over 50 appearances for the Saints.
Share this article
