10 Candidates to Succeed Sean Dyche as Burnley FC Manager
“I love underdogs, people who have achieved extraordinary things against the odds”. A quote attributed to Phil Keoghan, the New Zealand TV presenter famous for hosting CBS’ The Amazing Race. It’s a quote that perfectly encapsulates the current status of Burnley FC in the English Premier League over the past fifteen years.
Founded in 1882, The Clarets as they are affectionately known were founding members of the English Football League (EFL) in its inaugural season in 1888/89 and twice emerged as English champions (1920/21 and 1959/60).
In the 2008/09 season, the East Lancashire outfit ended a 33-year hiatus from the top flight of English football under the management of Scot Owen Coyle by emerging victorious in the EFL Championship play-off final by a 1-0 score-line over Sheffield United courtesy of a Wade Elliott goal.
Burnley’s stay in the top flight lasted just a season before relegation back to the Championship once again for the 2010/11 season. However, the good times were just beginning for The Clarets.
Partway through the 2012/13 Championship season, Burnley appointed Sean Dyche as their new manager to replace current Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, who subsequently re-joined former club AFC Bournemouth as their new manager.
The appointment proved to be one of the best in Burnley’s history. Just over 18 months after his appointment, Dyche had led Burnley to the Premier League for the 2014/15 season with a runners-up finish in the 2013/14 Championship.
Between 2014/15 and the current campaign, Burnley have played only one season outside the Premier League, the 2015/16 Championship where they returned to the top flight after just a one-year hiatus as champions.
Dyche not only stabilised The Clarets as ever-presents in the Premier League throughout his time in charge at Turf Moor, he also masterminded an exceptional 7th place finish in the 2017/18 Premier League season, Burnley’s fourth-highest finish since their last English title in 1959/60 and a classification which qualified them for the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League, only their third-ever foray into European club competition.
In modern-day football, Burnley truly are an underdog whose exploits under Dyche in his near ten seasons in charge have seen the club earn huge respect amongst football fanbases everywhere.
Amongst all current Premier League clubs for the 2021/22 season, Burnley have the 4th lowest net spend over a five-season period dating back to the 2017/18 campaign according to data from Transfermarkt.
Throughout their time in the English top-flight in recent seasons, Burnley have also ranked amongst the lowest team salary-paying clubs.
On Good Friday 2022 many were stunned after nearly ten years in charge of The Clarets to see Dyche fired by Burnley with just eight Premier League games remaining.
Dyche was replaced by Burnley Under 23’s manager Mike Jackson who is being assisted by Connor King and current Burnley captain Ben Mee.
So far, the caretaker managerial team has overseen a 1-1 draw away at West Ham United and an impressive 2-0 home win over Southampton. Burnley, despite being in the relegation zone now sit just one point behind 17th-placed Everton in the Premier League.
According to recent reports, there are widely considered two options going forward for 84% majority shareholders ALK Capital, who acquired the club in December 2020.
Option one is to eventually appoint an interim manager until the end of the season to take over from the current caretaker team before appointing a new manager in the summer.
Option two, which given the recent upturn in form seems more feasible, is to keep the current caretaker managerial team in charge until the summer, before then bringing in a replacement permanent manager.
Whichever option Burnley look to go down from now until the summer, the second crucial big decision for the new ownership will have to be made in the summer months. It is finding a replacement for Dyche, whose shock firing was the first of these crucial big decisions.
Burnley are a club at a crossroads, in need a new manager who can come in and replicate Dyche’s success as best possible.
The new manager will also have to contend with a big summer rebuild to an ageing squad, Burnley’s starting eleven for the Matchday 21 clash against Leeds United had an average age of 30.9 years, the oldest in the Premier League.
10 first-team players are out of contract at Turf Moor in the summer too and finally, there is uncertainty over what division Burnley will be in next campaign, which plays an impact on transfer and wage budgets for 2022/23 at Turf Moor.
Who succeeds Dyche is a huge decision for chairperson Alan Pace and ALK Capital and here are ten realistic options who could fill the sizeable managerial shoes of the Kettering-native in the Burnley dug-out from the summer.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
The first candidate is a well-known figure in the shape of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The former Manchester United striking legend served as Red Devils manager from December 2018 until November 2021.
During his time in the Old Trafford dugout Solskjaer managed to stabilise a very unsteady ship following the turbulent reign of previous manager Jose Mourinho.
Despite a disappointing 6th placed finish in the 2018/19 campaign, things over the next two seasons started to improve.
A third-place Premier League finish in 2019/20 was followed by a runners-up Premier League finish in 2020/21.
However, trophies proved elusive to Solskjaer at Old Trafford as the Red Devils lost the 2019/20 FA Cup semi finals to Chelsea, the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League semi finals to Sevilla FC and the 2020/21 Europa League final to Villarreal CF.
After a significant spending spree on new players in the summer of 2021, much was expected of Manchester United in 2021/22.
However, the campaign has been one of disappointment and after a 4-1 defeat away at Watford on 20th November, Solskjaer was dismissed as manager with the club lying in 7th place in the Premier League.
Despite his struggles at the end of his time at Old Trafford, Solskjaer did achieve some noteworthy feats at Manchester United.
These included a 14 game unbeaten league streak at the end of the 2019/20 Premier League, a 13 and 14 match unbeaten league streak in the 2020/21 Premier League and finishing on 74 points in the 2020/21 Premier League table, their second-highest points tally since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement as manager at the end of the 2012/13 Premier League.
Six months has passed since the Norwegian left Old Trafford and now might be the time to contemplate a return to the dugout. Could Burnley be that club?
It is worth noting that Solskjaer won Molde their first two Norwegian Tippelagen titles in their history in both 2011 and 2012.
In addition, Solskjaer’s knowledge of Manchester United could be useful for Burnley to turn to for promising loanees or permanent player transfers from the Old Trafford club as they embark on the rebuild.
Wayne Rooney
208 goals and 112 assists in 491 Premier League matches, 53 goals in 120 caps for England, his country’s record goal-scorer, Wayne Rooney is a name that needs no introduction to fans of both Everton FC and Manchester United.
After announcing his retirement as a player at final club Derby County partway through the 2020/21 season, Rooney was installed as Phillip Cocu’s permanent managerial successor on 15th January 2021.
Rooney led Derby to EFL Championship survival at the end of the 2020/21 campaign, however, barely weeks into the 2021/22 Championship campaign, Derby were placed into administration and thus incurred a 12 point deduction.
In mid-November 2021, worse news was to follow as the club were deducted a further nine points for a breach of EFL accountancy rules.
Despite the huge obstacle to overcome in the shape of a mammoth points penalty in addition to the embargo imposed on the club due to its administration when it comes to replenishing sold players, Derby under Rooney acquitted themselves superbly throughout the 2021/22 Championship season.
Their eventual relegation only being confirmed on Easter Monday 2022 following a 1-0 away loss against Queens Park Rangers.
Rooney has won plaudits in his first managerial job for some of the results he has managed to achieve. Examples include home victories against the Championship’s current top two clubs Fulham FC and AFC Bournemouth, all whilst being forced to integrate young academy products into Derby’s first team such as Jason Knight, Max Bird, Fetsy Ebosele and Lee Buchanan.
American entrepreneur Chris Kirchner has been named as preferred bidder by the administrators for the club and there is hope that the takeover can be agreed upon soon to bring the club out of administration.
Rooney does appear to have expressed an interest in staying at Derby for next season in the third tier of English football.
However, the takeover has not yet gone through and there is still a possibility Derby could face an additional fifteen point penalty next season in League One if unsecured creditors are not paid 35 pence to the pound when Kirchner’s takeover eventually completes.
This prospect may worry Rooney and potentially could mean he is open to taking a new challenge at another Championship club or higher up the pyramid for next season.
Burnley as aforementioned is a club with a massive rebuild planned for the summer. However, this is a scenario no different to the one Rooney will encounter at Derby, they will be at minimum one division higher than Derby and would be starting next season on level points with everyone else.
Finally, if Burnley were to be relegated to the Championship, Rooney would not only get lots of wage room being freed up from expiring contracts to use when rebuilding Burnley’s squad, he would also have access to colossal parachute payment money for relegated clubs.
Could this hypothetical scenario or the chance to totally rebuild Burnley in either the Championship or Premier League tempt Rooney to Turf Moor to succeed Dyche?
Michael Carrick
The next candidate is another former Manchester United candidate in the shape of Michael Carrick. After 12 fantastic seasons at Old Trafford between 2006 and 2018 as a player following equally impressive spells at first club West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, Carrick turned his attention to coaching immediately after his playing retirement.
Carrick instantly joined Jose Mourinho’s coaching staff at The Red Devils for the 2018/19 season and has assisted both the Portuguese manager and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the club up until Solskjaer’s departure in November 2021.
After Solskjaer left the club Carrick stepped in for three games on a caretaker basis whilst Manchester United finalised the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as new interim manager.
This caretaker period proved successful as Carrick negotiated an away draw at Chelsea, an away win against Villarreal in the Champions League and a home victory over Arsenal.
However, immediately after the victory over Arsenal, Carrick announced that he was leaving Manchester United after 15 years as a player and coach.
Reported factors in Carrick’s decision to leave were cited as loyalty towards the fired Solskjaer and a desire to take a break from football having gone straight into coaching at the club straight after retirement.
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Now nearly six months on from his departure from Old Trafford, Carrick may desire to embark on a full-time management career as a number one having had a brief taste of it in between Solskjaer and Rangnick. Burnley, irrespective of whether they are in the Championship or Premier League next season could provide that opportunity.
Aged 41, Carrick is now an ideal age to begin full time management having served his apprenticeship during three and a half years coaching at Manchester United.
Carrick holds the UEFA Pro License badge, the highest coaching qualification. Finally, his contacts at Manchester United could prove invaluable when it comes to securing loans or transfers from his former club as Burnley look to rebuild at the end of this current season.
Daniel Farke
The next potential new permanent manager for Burnley would very much fall into the category of an appointment aimed at achieving an eventual return to the Premier League in case of relegation to the Championship in the shape of Daniel Farke.
Immediately after retiring as a player at the end of the 2007/08 season at SV Lippstadt, Farke a year later was managing the very same club he finished his playing career at.
In six seasons at SV Lippstadt, Farke took the modest club from the sixth tier of German football to the fourth tier before leaving in the summer of 2015 to take the job at Borussia Dortmund II, Die Schwarzgelben’s reserve side. After two seasons at Dortmund II, Farke then left Norwich in the summer of 2017 to take the vacant Norwich City job.
Upon his arrival prior to the 2017/18 season at Carrow Road as the permanent successor to Alex Neil, Farke’s appointment by Norwich was widely seen as the club copying the successful managerial blueprint employed by Huddersfield Town.
Just a few seasons earlier, The Terriers had appointed Wagner and within two seasons at the conclusion of the 2016/17 EFL Championship season, Wagner had led Huddersfield, a team with a reported mid-table Championship budget to Premier League promotion.
Sure enough, the Wagner blueprint at Huddersfield was replicated at Norwich almost identically under Farke. In Farke’s second season in charge (2018/19), Norwich won promotion to the Premier League as Championship winners.
An immediate return to the Championship followed as Norwich were relegated from the 2019/20 Premier League season. Almost immediately though, Norwich rebounded and having kept faith with Farke, won the 2020/21 Championship title, the German’s second title and promotion.
Following his dismissal by Norwich in November 2021, when The Canaries sat bottom of the 2021/22 Premier League, Farke had himself a new job going into 2022 when in January he accepted the managerial job at Russian Premier League club FC Krasnodar.
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However, following Russia’s invasion and war against Ukraine in late February 2022, Farke immediately resigned from the Krasnodar job without taking charge of a single game at his new club and has been out of work ever since.
If Burnley were to be relegated to the Championship at the end of the season, given the size of the rebuild needed, it could be a two or three-season stint reshaping the squad before promotion back to the Premier League is achieved.
In his first full season in charge of Norwich, Farke only managed a 14th place finish with The Canaries before then going on to win the Championship in his second season in charge. Based on this he could be the perfect candidate for Burnley going forward.
Kjetil Knutsen
One of the most noteworthy names in modern-day management is the great Arrigo Sacchi who achieved fame for a four-year trophy-laden stint at AC Milan between 1987 and 1991 before then going on to lead the Italian national team to the 1994 FIFA World Cup final.
Sacchi had never played professional football prior to beginning his coaching career in 1973 with modest Italian outfit Fusignano. When quizzed on a lack of playing experience when coaching clubs, Sacchi simply replied “I never realised that in order to become a jockey you have to have been a horse first”.
One coach currently making waves in the European football circuit who is forging a path similar to Sacchi in his homeland at present is FK Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen.
The 53-year-old Norwegian as a player had no professional career, his only playing experience being a youth team player at SK Brann. However, he is currently making up for this lack of a noteworthy playing career with his exploits in coaching.
After stints coaching at modest clubs in the lower tiers of the Norwegian football pyramid such as Hovding, Fyllingsdalen and Asane, Knutsen took charge of Bodo/Glimt for the start of the 2018 Norwegian Eliteserien top flight.
Knutsen led Bodo to an 11th-placed finish and safety the season after winning promotion. 2019 saw Bodo finish 2nd in the Eliteserien before winning back-to-back Norwegian titles in the 2020 and 2021 campaigns, the first titles in Bodo/Glimt’s history.
Knutsen has also impressed in European competition with Bodo/Glimt too. After losing in the 2021/22 Champions League qualification rounds, Bodo/Glimt dropped into the third tier UEFA Europa Conference League.
Here they went unbeaten in the group stages with three wins and three draws, finishing second in their group, achieving qualification for the knockout rounds.
Amongst these six unbeaten games, the most noteworthy result was a 6-1 victory over Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma at their home Aspmyra Stadium.
Bodo were not finished there though, impressive two-legged victories over Celtic FC and AZ Alkmaar saw Bodo reach the Quarter Finals of the Europa Conference League.
Here they lost over two legs to Mourinho’s Roma, who gained their revenge on Bodo. However, the Northern Norwegian side won respect everywhere for their run in European competition.
Kuntsen has won the Norwegian Eliteserien coach of the year award for the last three seasons and may now desire a fresh challenge.
Since ALK Capital’s takeover of Burnley, there has been more a venture into markets overseas for new players as the signings of Wout Weghorst and Maxwel Cornet demonstrate.
Knutsen’s exploits at Bodo/Glimt and his knowledge of a market like the Scandinavian leagues which could prove a good cheap source for new signings could have caught the eye of the Burnley hierarchy in trying to find a Dyche replacement.
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A relegation to the Championship for Burnley may hinder this potential appointment as Knutsen will have Champions League football with Bodo/Glimt in the 2022/23 European football season.
However, if Burnley survive this season and where in the Premier League for 2022/23, the new manager vacancy at The Clarets would appeal more to Knutsen and he might be tempted to forgo the carrot of Champions League football for a chance which he might not get again aged 53 to coach in the Premier League.
Chris Wilder
Currently the bookmaker’s favourite to be the next permanent manager of Burnley FC, Chris Wilder’s links with the vacancy at Turf Moor are fascinating for a number of reasons.
53 year-old Wilder is best known for his brilliant work at his most recent job at Sheffield United where he took The Blades from League One to a ninth-placed Premier League finish in the space of just four seasons between 2016/17 and 2019/20.
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However, Wilder’s excellent work goes beyond his exploits at Sheffield United. He famously led Oxford United back to the English Football League back in 2009/10.
At Northampton Town, Wilder successfully averted The Cobblers from dropping out of the Football League in 2013/14 before improving them to mid-table in EFL League Two in 2014/15 and then promotion to EFL League One in 2015/16.
After succeeding Neil Warnock in December 2021, Wilder has revitalised Middlesbrough’s Championship promotion challenge and Boro remain firmly in play-off contention with just a few games remaining in the Championship season.
Boro have also impressed in the FA Cup this campaign, they famously eliminated Manchester United in the Fourth Round, saw off Tottenham Hotspur in Round Five before succumbing to Chelsea FC in the Quarter Finals.
If both Boro and Burnley were to be in the Championship next season, Wilder could probably look to stay at Middlesbrough.
However, if Burnley were to stay in the Premier League for next season, Wilder may be tempted to swap Boro for The Clarets given the lure of Premier League football and a larger budget to conduct Burnley’s much-needed refresh.
Neil Critchley
Historically, many of Burnley’s signings in recent times which have contributed to this successful period in their history have come from EFL clubs and in their search for a permanent replacement for Sean Dyche, the hierarchy of the club should not ignore some of the promising young managerial talent emerging outside of the Premier League.
43-year-old Neil Critchley is one of these aforementioned talents. After retiring aged 24 as a player, the Crewe native turned his attention to coaching and headed up his local club Crewe Alexandra’s academy in the position of joint Academy Director in 2007.
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After six years in this role, Critchley then took his first steps into coaching when he joined Liverpool as Under 18’s manager in the summer of 2013.
Following four seasons with Liverpool’s Under 18’s, Critchley was then promoted to become Liverpool Under 23’s manager in the summer of 2017.
He spent two and a half seasons in this role before Blackpool FC of EFL League One approached Liverpool to offer Critchley the full-time managerial role at The Tangerines, an offer Critchley accepted in March 2020, cutting his near seven-year relationship with Liverpool.
Succeeding Simon Grayson in the dugout at Bloomfield Road, Critchley led Blackpool to a 13th placed League One finish at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.
In 2020/21, the improvement under Critchley at Blackpool in the new manager’s first full season in charge was noteworthy. The Seasiders finished 3rd in League One, qualifying them for the end of season play-offs, which they duly won defeating Oxford United and Lincoln City in the semi-finals and final respectively to win promotion to the EFL Championship for 2021/22.
Critchley has further solidified his reputation as one of the EFL’s most promising young managers throughout 2021/22.
Blackpool currently sit 16th in the table, comfortably safe from relegation and for the vast majority of the campaign have never looked in any relegation danger at all. Highlights of the campaign include procuring four points from their two matches against Championship leaders Fulham FC.
If Burnley were to drop into the Championship, curious glances towards Critchley could be cast for a permanent Sean Dyche replacement.
There would be a big rebuild to engineer at Burnley, however, even in spite of this, The Clarets would be viewed as a stronger Premier League promotion candidate than The Tangerines. Could this tempt Critchley to swap managerial jobs in Lancashire?
Carlos Carvalhal
The next potential candidate for the Burnley successor to Sean Dyche is another manager who would probably be more likely to come to Turf Moor if The Clarets were still a Premier League club next season. Carlos Carvalhal’s past English football experience may be a factor which ALK Capital could consider when naming the next permanent manager.
Carvalhal first shot to the attention of many in his homeland of Portugal in the 2001/02 season when he led Leixoes Sport Club, then a third-tier club to the final of the Portuguese Cup where they only narrowly lost 1-0 to Portuguese champions Sporting CP.
There was another noteworthy achievement in the 2007/08 campaign when he led Vitoria Futebol Clube (Vitoria Setubal) to a 6th placed finish in the Liga Primeira and UEFA Europa League qualification for the following season.
After a three-year hiatus in his managerial career between 2012 and 2015, Carvalhal then took charge of EFL Championship club Sheffield Wednesday for the 2015/16 campaign.
Carvalhal spent two and a half largely successful seasons in charge of The Owls leading them to two play-off finishes in the English second tier in 2015/16 and 2016/17.
In the former of these campaigns, Wednesday lost 1-0 to Hull City in the play-off finals and narrowly missed promotion to the Premier League.
2017/18 was not as successful for Carvalhal at Hillsborough and he was fired in December of that season and an unsuccessful short stint at Premier League club Swansea City followed afterwards. No manager has come as close as Carvalhal has to guiding Sheffield Wednesday back to the Premier League for the first time since 1999/00.
At the start of the 2020/21 Liga Primeira season, Carvalhal returned to coach his hometown club Braga for a second spell.
Under Carvalhal, Braga comfortably established themselves as the 4th best club in Portugal behind the Big Three (Os Tres Grandes) and reached the finals of both the Portuguese League Cup (Taca da Liga) and Portuguese national cup, losing the former and winning the latter.
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In 2021/22, not only has Carvalhal continued to solidify Braga in 4th place in the Portuguese top flight, he has also impressed in European competition.
Braga reached the Quarter Finals of the UEFA Europa League, impressively seeing off AS Monaco in the Round of Sixteen before succumbing to Rangers FC. Carvalhal is out of contract in the summer and is reportedly likely to leave Braga.
Recent rumours have seen him linked to clubs in the Brazilian Serie A, though nothing official has been agreed yet. Carvalhal may have unfinished business in English football given how it all unravelled at both Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea in 2017/18.
Tempting him to come to Burnley in the Championship may be difficult if big Brazilian clubs are enquiring about his services. However, if Burnley were to remain in the Premier League, the lure of managing again in England’s top flight may prove a tempting carrot for Carvalhal should he be approached.
Liam Manning
The penultimate name on my list would be another example of Burnley mining the EFL for managerial talent similar to a hypothetical approach for Neil Critchley and it comes in the shape of Milton Keynes Dons (MK Dons) manager Liam Manning.
A former youth player at fierce rivals Norwich City and Ipswich Town, 36-year-old Manning immediately embarked on a coaching career at former club Ipswich Town after his playing retirement in 2010.
In 2015 he moved to West Ham United to be their Under 23’s manager and spent four years in East London, working within The Hammers reserve set-up a certain Declan Rice.
After four years at West Ham, Manning departed to join New York City FC (NYCFC) in 2019 and fulfilled roles such as Director of Coaching and Academy Director during his stint at the Major League Soccer outfit.
For the 2020/21 season, Manning was on the move once again, this time joining second-tier Belgian side Lommel SK, like NYCFC another City Football Group club. In his only season in charge at Lommel, Manning improved the side from a bottom-placed finish in 2019/20 to a 3rd place finish in 2020/21.
After Russell Martin left his post as manager of MK Dons in the summer of 2021 to join Swansea City as their new manager, MK Dons immediately appointed Manning as his replacement. The improvement in MK Dons has been immediate since Manning’s arrival in Buckinghamshire.
2020/21 under Martin yielded a 13th placed finish, with just one game remaining in the 2021/22 EFL League One season, MK Dons are challenging both Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic for automatic promotion and are guaranteed at least a play-off position should they miss out on automatic promotion.
Manning is gathering a growing reputation as one of the most promising young English managers at present and his sides play a modern, possession-based style of play.
In the event of a Burnley relegation to the Championship for 2022/23, they could potentially be either a whole division higher than MK Dons (if MK Dons don’t win promotion to the Championship for 2022/23) or a much better bet for promotion to the Premier League than MK Dons (if MK Dons win promotion to the 2022/23 Championship).
Therefore, with a clean slate to build his own new side and with relegation parachute payments to work with, could Manning be tempted by an approach from Burnley if they drop into the Championship?
Michael Duff
The final contender on my list is another promising young manager in the EFL who Burnley may turn to should they be relegated to the Championship for next season.
He also may be strongly tempted to take the permanent job at Turf Moor owing to his former status as a playing hero amongst Burnley supporters. That manager is Michael Duff.
44-year-old Duff started his professional career at Cheltenham Town in 1996 and the Northern Irishman was part of The Robins 1998/99 squad which won promotion to the English Football League for the very first time at the end of that campaign.
Between 1999 and 2004, Duff spent five more seasons at the Gloucestershire outfit, playing in both League Two and League One as a regular and frequent fan favourite.
In 2004, Burnley signed Duff from Cheltenham for a reported fee of just GBP 30,000 and the central defender saw out the rest of his career with The Clarets making a total of 383 appearances until he announced his playing retirement at the end of the 2015/16 campaign, where Burnley won promotion to the Premier League as EFL Championship winners.
After a two-year break after retirement, Duff embarked on his managerial career taking over at Cheltenham partway through the 2018/19 campaign and led The Robins to a mid-table League Two finish.
In his first full season in charge in 2019/20, Duff improved Cheltenham to a 4th placed finish, losing in the promotion playoffs to Northampton Town.
In 2020/21, Duff led Cheltenham to the EFL League Two title and promotion to League One. With just one game of the 2021/22 League One season left, Duff has comfortably secured League One survival for Cheltenham and they are guaranteed to finish anywhere between 13th and 16th in the final standings.
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If Burnley were to stay in the Premier League, I don’t see Duff being considered as a permanent replacement for Dyche. However, Burnley could consider Duff should they drop into the Championship.
Despite a big rebuild being on the cards, Burnley fans may well be patient with Duff during this rebuild due to his status as a past Clarets playing hero.
Moreover, transfer & wage budgets between the two clubs are not comparable with Burnley offering far more and it would be hard for Duff to turn down Burnley should they make an approach.
By: Richard David Pike / @RichDPike89
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Bradley Collyer – PA Images