Burnley are set to embark on a tough Premier League campaign after what they achieved last season. Sean Dyche’s side need all the squad depth they can muster and need to make a few additions.
The Clarets haven’t signed anyone yet in the transfer window and that’s a bit worrying ad there are just a few days before the Premier League transfer window closes.
Their latest attempt to try and sign a player was rebuffed. Reports from Sky Sports earlier stated that Burnley made a £12m bid for Middlesbrough defender Ben Gibson.
The Northern Echo, however, subsequently revealed that the bid was rejected as Boro value the defender at around £18m, which happens to be his release clause.
Ben Gibson – Fact File
Ben Gibson has been an important player for Middlesbrough for quite a while now. A Boro academy product, Gibson broke into the first team in 2011 but could never manage to get a regular place. A few loan spells helped him keep up his development and he finally returned to play a bigger role in the first team during the 2013-14 season.
Gibson played an important role under Aitor Karanka, the manager who led the Teesiders to the Premier League a couple of years ago. Karanka was a pragmatist, so Gibson’s presence at the back helped the team keep their defensive solidity.
An old-school defender, Gibson rose to prominence for his ability to read the game. There’s a saying that if you’re tackling rate is more than your interception rate, you are often out of position as a defender.
During Boro’s Premier League campaign more than a year ago, Gibson’s managed 1.5 interceptions per game. His made a mammoth 6.2 clearances a game as well and his ability to react well when under pressure was impressive as he mustered a pass accuracy of 84.6%.
Should Burnley come back with a bigger bid?
Burnley have a few good defenders in James Tarkowski and Ben Mee, but will need the depth to improve upon last season’s impressive exploits.
Tarkowski is someone who likes to carry the ball out of the back and Gibson’s presence as a covering defender could be the ideal ploy.
Still only 25, Gibson’s peak years are ahead of him. Burnley will have to come back with a better bid and considering there is money to spend, Dyche and co. should try and raise the fee to add the much-needed depth at the club.
Stats via Whoscored