Clarets to go back in for versatile midfielder?

Clarets boss Sean Dyche could make another raid on Swansea City for versatile midfielder Sam Clucas.
Burnley's Ashley Barnes battles with Swansea City's Tom Carroll and Sam Clucas

Photographer Ashley Crowden/CameraSport

The Premier League - Swansea City v Burnley - Saturday 10th February 2018 - Liberty Stadium - Swansea

World Copyright © 2018 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.comBurnley's Ashley Barnes battles with Swansea City's Tom Carroll and Sam Clucas

Photographer Ashley Crowden/CameraSport

The Premier League - Swansea City v Burnley - Saturday 10th February 2018 - Liberty Stadium - Swansea

World Copyright © 2018 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.com
Burnley's Ashley Barnes battles with Swansea City's Tom Carroll and Sam Clucas Photographer Ashley Crowden/CameraSport The Premier League - Swansea City v Burnley - Saturday 10th February 2018 - Liberty Stadium - Swansea World Copyright © 2018 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - [email protected] - www.camerasport.com

Dyche swooped to land Jack Cork for £10m from the Swans last summer.

And, while no offer was forthcoming at the time of going to press, he has been linked with a £12m bid for a player brought in essentially as Cork’s replacement, following City’s relegation from the Premier League.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Last summer, Burnley had offers of £5m and then £10m turned down by Hull City for Clucas, before the player moved to the Liberty Stadium.

The Tigers’ player of the year arrived from Chesterfield for £1.3m in 2015, before joining Swansea for a fee in the region of £15m.

Very much a player in the Dyche mould, Clucas, 27, is full of running, and can fill a number of positions.

Clucas started out as a wide player, and can play anywhere down the left – full back, wide midfield or wide in a front three, as well as off the front, and in central midfield.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Dyche is looking to add to his wide options, after the departure of Scott Arfield, and Georges-Keviun Nkoudou’s return to Spurs.

And while Swansea would potentially be making a loss on the player at £12m, it remains to be seen whether new boss Graham Potter thinks the funds, and getting a Premier League wage off the books, makes sense.

Potter said at a recent Swansea fans’ forum: “We have to make the right decisions, and not quick and easy ones.

“There are Premier League players and contracts that are not sustainable for the long-term future of the club.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Dyche, meanwhile, hopes his patience will pay off as he looks to make his first summer signing.

He has so far been frustrated in his efforts to bring anyone into the club.

The Clarets have had a combined £25m for West Brom pair Jay Rodriguez and Craig Dawson turned down, with the Baggies wanting closer to £38-40m for the duo, who are both thought to want to make the switch.

The window closes three weeks on Thursday, ahead of the new Premier League season, and Dyche said: “It’s the usual really, I think it’s difficult to affect it with the way the club is run.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We don’t want to lose the club’s values, so we have to be patient, that’s the key, we can’t just go and cherry pick players. It’s not an easy situation, the way we go about it makes it tougher, so we have to bide our time. It can be frustrating, but we’ll keep working, and sometimes a couple of situations could also come out of the blue as well.”

Burnley are back at the Barnfield Training Centre this week after their camp in Cork last week, which came to an end with a 1-0 win over Cork City on Friday night.

Steven Defour (calf) and Matt Lowton (groin) sat out the game, as did Robbie Brady as he builds up his fitness after returning from knee surgery in December.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson is back with the squad this week after the World Cup.