More and more clubs join the Gray queue
When the 2016/17 season ended, I didn’t think we’d be considering the possibility of Andre Gray leaving after two years at Burnley even though Tottenham Hotspur were reported to have made an enquiry.
There is always a concern when a player is about to go into the last year of his contract but Gray himself said as the season drew to a close that he would start talks once the last ball had been kicked. There was nothing to suggest he might be packing his bags.
That might still be the case, but undoubtedly someone is giving other clubs some belief that they can get him away from Burnley. Newcastle were the next to apparently show an interest. They were followed by Everton, then West Brom, and now, more recently, West Ham have joined the list of suitors.
The Hammers are reported to have made a £15 million offer for Gray with the same reports suggesting that they made a similar offer in January which we turned down.
Burnley have offered Gray a new deal. That clearly hasn’t been signed although the suggestions that he’s wanting £100,000 per week shouldn’t be believed, he’s rubbished that himself. But, if he doesn’t sign then we do have a decision to make as to whether to sell him or let him run down his contract and get nothing for him.
Should he go, there have already been potential replacements speculated including one very experienced Premier League player and one with no Premier League experience at all.
The experienced player is Stoke’s Jonathan Walters with Burnley said to have made a £3 million offer for him. The Stoke Sentinel claimed an offer had gone in but it was for significantly less.
The more intriguing is the link with Nottingham Forest’s Congolese striker Britt Assombalonga. The 24-year-old, whose dad played international football for Zaire, is now fully recovered from a serious injury that kept him out for over a year.
He’s well known to our manager Sean Dyche who gave him his debut at Watford. He played just four times for the Hornets before signing for Peterborough in 2013 after a successful loan at Southend. His goalscoring record for Posh and then Forest has been exceptional with 53 goals in 108 appearances.
Forest boss Mark Warburton has already said: “I do not want Britt to go anywhere. He is a goalscorer. He showed his value at the end of last season. We know what he can do. He had to overcome a very difficult injury and has shown great character to do so. I am looking forward to working with him going forward.”
However, Warburton added: “If a club comes in with a bid that represents good business for Nottingham Forest, we will do what any other club would do, but we do not want him to go anywhere. If a deal is on the table that is good for Forest, that does not show a lack of ambition or desire. It is just good business practice.”
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