Burnley set eye-watering price tag for McNeil as PL rivals circle

Burnley will hold out for a £40m fee if bids come in for Dwight McNeil in January, according to reports.

The England U21 international has long been the jewel in the Burnley crown but the Clarets face a fight to hold on to him this month, with Premier League rivals circling.

Aston Villa, Everton and Crystal Palace are all interested and are prepared to fork out £20m for the winger, who has been tracked by Manchester United in recent years.

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The Sun, though, claim Burnley are demanding a fee of £40m for McNeil, despite his uninspiring start to the campaign.

He is yet to score this season and has registered just one assist, with Burnley sat in the relegation zone on 11 points.

Nevertheless, Sean Dyche will need to hold on to his best players if he is to rescue Burnley’s campaign, and that includes McNeil.

The 22-year-old is not the only player being linked with an exit this window, as Newcastle eye up James Tarkowski and Ben Mee.

Eddie Howe is seeking defensive reinforcements as he looks to stave off relegation, though it is unlikely Burnley will sell to a direct rival.

They have had four games postponed this season and have lots of catching up to do in the race for survival.

Speaking prior to Sunday’s clash with Leeds, Dyche said of the fixture chaos: “It’s not about me being happy or not, it’s the powers that be that make the decisions. They are the ones that control football, certainly not me.

“It’s up to the teams to decide how they are going about it. The Premier League are the ones that are controlling it. So, it will be on their shoulders whatever way they are making decisions on why the games are off.

“Their drums are the beat we are all dancing to, no-one else’s.”

On Burnley’s survival hopes, he added: “The performances levels have been generally high. The details are so, so vital in any game and the margins etc, etc. We have to, obviously, look to change that.

“The mentality is firm. At Manchester United we are three-nil down, nick a goal and second half we have three really good chances in the last three or four minutes. So, the mentality is good.”