Share this page :
FacebooktwittermailFacebooktwittermail

It’s been a busy sort of day yet one when nothing has really happened. Ticket details have now been confirmed for the game next week at League One Blackburn, oh, and we’ve apparently put in offers for three potential new players.

The first two of those offers were not really a surprise. According to local sources, we have increased our offer for Leeds striker Chris Woods while a further bid for Hull midfielder Sam Clucas (pictured) made the Sky Sports News yellow bar.

It does suggest we are stepping up our search with this news following yesterday’s reports that we were keen to sign Andre Ranocchia the Inter Milan defender who spent the second half of last season on loan at Hull.

Embed from Getty Images

The Wood offer was, Up the Clarets understands, well short of the £20 million quoted in the media, but interest in him does follow a pattern. He was the Championship’s leading goalscorer last season with 27 goals; two of the three previous leading scorers in that league have been Danny Ings and Andre Gray.

New Zealand international Wood certainly has a good record in the Championship although he’s had limited football in the Premier League and three seasons ago was quickly dispensed with by Leicester manager Nigel Pearson. He scored in their opening game against Everton but made only seven appearances in the top flight for them before moving to Ipswich on loan and then to Leeds in the following summer.

Leeds have turned the offer down and a source close to the player told the Daily Star: “Chris knows his stock has never been higher and he wants a crack in the Premier League, but he also knows Leeds have to be realistic in their valuation and not hold out for a fee that is over the top.”

It’s reported that Sean Dyche is desperate to sign him but will not be held to ransom and should Leeds hold out for a big fee he will instead move for either Duvan Zapata (Napoli) or Nicolas de Proville (Lille).

Hull have followed the same line as Leeds when we went back in for Clucas which the Hull Daily Mail have reported as a £10 million bid. It’s shaken the newly relegated club to the point where they are now keen to tie down the midfielder for longer than his existing contract which still has two years to run and manager Leonid Slutsky has made it clear he doesn’t want any more players sold in this window.

Midfielder Clucas joined Hull from Chesterfield two years ago for a feel believed to be around £1.3 million and has featured in 81 of their 84 league games during the last two seasons. He’d previously played for Lincoln, Hereford and Mansfield. Able to play in a central or wide midfield role, is versatility is clearly attractive to the Clarets.

But back to the strikers and it’s taken a very different turn this afternoon with Sky again breaking news that we had made an offer of €13 million for Romanian striker Florin Andone from La Liga club Deportivo La Coruna.

My knowledge of European football could do with brushing up it’s fair to say. That I know nothing about Andone is no surprise given I knew nothing about Belgian midfielder Steven Defour a year ago as Burnley pursued him.

What I’ve learned is that he’s 24, has played 15 times for his country, scoring once, and has been with Deportivo for a year and in that year he’s scored 12 times in 37 appearances. He’d previously had two years with the first team at Cordoba for whom he scored 26 in 56 games.

I don’t play computer games so can’t help there, but as you can see below, he’s good on YouTube (you will need to click the YouTube link).

Follow UpTheClarets:
FacebooktwitterFacebooktwitter


Share this page :
FacebooktwittermailFacebooktwittermail