Burnley boss Dyche tight-lipped on transfers

Deals have been difficult to get over the line so far this summer, and a busy week in the final few days of the window will be an added complication,

There have been a number of deadline days fall on matchnight in the Premier League recently, with Burnley landing Ashley Westwood and Robbie Brady in January 2017 while Sean Dyche’s men were busy beating Leicester City.

And a quiet deadline passed this January as Burnley drew 1-1 at Newcastle.

But a trip to Istanbul BaÅŸakÅŸehir, where the team will have to be in Turkey 24 hours before the game, is a different dimension altogether.

Dyche smiled: “It’s a great day to have it (the deadline), I remember finding out about Robbie Brady at half-time one transfer deadline day, that we had signed him.

“But we keep working diligently and working hard.

“Whatever you think of the market, it is very difficult.

“Even when you put good money to people, everyone wants more, more more.

“We had one player who was done verbally, and then it’s not done, but that’s life.

“Life in football has changed, agreements are not agreements until they’re on paper.

“They used to be a bit more straight forward conduct, but I don’t think that’s there any more.

“There’s an offer, yeah yeah, and they go and tell 15 other clubs to see if they’ll better it.”

On a day when the club had an £8m offer for Swansea midfielder Sam Clucas accepted, but saw bids for West Brom’s Jay Rodriguez, for £16m, and Middlesbrough centre back Ben Gibson, for £11m, turned down, Dyche was typically playing everything down: “No one’s said we have, only you lot!

“There’s been activity for ages, just as it gets closer, your job is to make as many stories as you can about alleged activity, that’s just the way it is.

“It’s my job to say nothing.

“We’re in the market for lots of different people in different positions. You’ve seen we haven’t got a massive squad, quite obviously tonight, and with all due respect to Dwight McNeil, who is doing fantastic, and he deserves it - but we still need layers as there will be more games coming.

“It’s always important you get people in, people who can either affect us immediately, or develop into it quickly, where it’s a new challenge for them.

“We’ve done quite well with that.

“Last year we got Corky, a more recognised Premier League player, who does a great job.”

Burnley’s stretched squad means a shadow side is likely to face Espanyol at Turf Moor in their final friendly: “I don’t know how many we’ll get out Sunday, that could be an interesting side,

“Tom (Heaton) is closer, but we’ve got to be careful.

“I doubt it, definitely not Steven (Defour), Robbie I doubt. We’ve got to be very careful.”