The Clarets are eagerly looking for midfield additions and have reportedly identified a couple of Championship stars to strengthen their squad.
Dale Stephens celebrates after scoring for Brighton
Burnley have had a £4 million bid for Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Dale Stephens rejected, according to the Daily Mail.
It is clear that Clarets boss Sean Dyche is eager to add to his midfield after earlier reports on Monday that Derby County had turned down a £3 million bid for Republic of Ireland midfield star Jeff Hendrick, as reported by Sky Sports.
Republic of Ireland’s Jeff Hendrick in action
Stephens came into the Championship with Charlton Athletic after earlier stints with Bury and Oldham Athletic. The skilful and combative 27-year-old impressed sufficiently in his season and a half in that division for Brighton to sign him in 2014.
Stephens played in all but one of the Seagull’s league fixtures last season, scoring seven goals and assisting four times as Brighton came close to promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history. Having narrowly missed out on automatic promotion, Stephens missed the playoff matches following a red card in the final day draw with runners up Middlesbrough.
Dale Stephens celebrates with teammates after scoring for Brighton
Dyche must have been impressed with the midfielder who was vital for one of Burnley’s rivals for promotion last season, and is eager to bring in someone into a side that lost Joey Barton to Rangers over the summer.
With the Clarets also chasing Hendrick, and still yet to make any significant additions to the first team, expect to hear a lot more transfer news from Turf Moor in the coming days, with a midfield arrival clearly top of the wish list.
Joey Barton
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