Michael Keane
Michael Keane

Burnley are prepared to keep Michael Keane and lose him for free next summer


Burnley chairman Mike Garlick insists the value of Premier League survival is so great they are prepared to hang on to Michael Keane and lose him for free next summer if a suitable offer is not forthcoming.

The 24-year-old England defender has one year remaining on his deal and is expected to attract interest from former club Manchester United among other suitors when the transfer window reopens.

Yet Garlick has reiterated the stance Burnley manager Sean Dyche has taken over recent weeks - that the Clarets' strong financial position following survival means cashing in on any of their prized assets is not necessary.

And he stressed that the windfall for a third straight year in the top flight would far outweigh any below-par fee they could recoup for Keane this summer.

"Let's roll it forward a year - what's the prize for staying up again, another £120-130million," Garlick said.

"So if we miss out on one or two fees and get that, I know what I'd take.

"The most important thing for the fans to know is that we don't actually have to sell any player. Going forward it's got to be on our terms and terms that are right for us. Do we need to sell anyone? No.

"It (speculation) is part of the business and it comes with the territory of being a successful team that has an impact in the Premier League, which is what we've done. It's bound to attract attention. Right now there's a lot of noise out there from the media but we haven't had any formal interest in anyone.

"If we want to keep players, we'll keep them."

In terms of expenditure this summer, the Clarets are set to have a record-breaking transfer window and eclipse the £32million they spent last summer on Jeff Hendrick, Steven Defour, Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Nick Pope.

Last season Burnley broke their transfer record with three successive purchases of Defour, Hendrick and then Robbie Brady in January, and Garlick has promised they will splash the cash again in a bid to stay up once more in 2017-18.

"I think it's fair to say going forward we will spend more on transfer fees in the coming season than we did last," he added.

"Our major objective is that when that window closes we've got to be stronger than we are sat here today. Will that be hard work? Yes. Will we able to achieve it? I believe we can.

"In terms of transfer fees, there's probably more money available for next season than there was last. You would hope because there's more money available we could improve slightly on where we are."

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