Championship duo Nottingham Forest and Stoke City were reportedly interested in signing Kevin Long from Premier League Burnley.
Kevin Long cannot buy a game right now.
According to The Sun (4 August, page 67), Nottingham Forest were interested in a defender who, at the age of 29, has made just 47 league appearances in over 10 years at Burnley.
It’s easy to forget that Long is no fresh-faced back-up, waiting in the wings for a chance in the first team, but an experienced centre-back who will be 30 this time next year. And yet, he continues to spend his life stuck on the sidelines.
So far this season, Long has been left on the bench five times and omitted from the matchday squad on three other occasions with his tally of Premier League minutes after eight games standing at precisely zero.
That’s not going to change any time soon either with James Tarkowski, Ben Mee and Ben Gibson all ahead of him in Sean Dyche’s pecking order.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest are sitting pretty near the top of the Championship table after being transformed by their charismatic new coach Sabri Lamouchi.
Forest have been the feel-good story of the season so far and Long has missed out on a journey which could, just maybe, end in promotion after two miserable decades in the lower leagues.
Stoke City were interested too, according to The Sun, and it goes without saying that Nathan Jones’ crisis-ridden Potters are crying out for a defender like Long.
Instead, one of the Premier League’s most committed benchwarmers is set for another season of gathering dust rather than helping battle relegation or fight for the title a division below.
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