Burnley boss Vincent Kompany shares January transfer window stance — and provides clarity on summer signing Scott Twine's future

The 36-year-old boss is keen to bolster his group — without disrupting the balance of his squad — due to the fact that a third of his summer signings are contracted to other clubs.

Four of the five loan stars have been prominent this season with Ian Maatsen (Chelsea), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Manchester City) and Jordan Beyer (Borussia Monchengladbach) forming 75 per cent of Burnley's back four.

Brentford striker Halil Dervisoglu has found it more difficult to make an impression given the 23-year-old has made just six appearances from the bench, but Southampton ace Nathan Tella is the club's second highest scorer.

The ex-Belgium defender says the Clarets must plan ahead, and act accordingly, with no guarantees over the respective futures of the quintet, who are due to return at the end of the season.

"I know how fragile these moments are but if everything goes to plan we might see a few arrivals," confirmed Kompany. "But the key thing for me is to not upset the balance of the team.

"The reason (for arrivals) is we have five players on loan and that will create a gap no matter whether we are in the Premier League or the Championship and we have to anticipate a little bit on this and the winter could be a period where we could add a few players for that reason.

"It's impossible to open discussions with loan players when they're with you, we respect that a lot, so we've got to plan as if everybody is going. Whether it's the Championship or the Premier League it doesn't really matter. We need to anticipate a little bit.

"If we find the right players we will look to improve, but it's important to take into account the bigger picture as well."

While Ashley Westwood and Kevin Long have exited the club permanently — and Matt Lowton and Will Norris have moved out on loan — Kompany is clearly making room for a number of incomings.

However, he insisted that they won't consider allowing Scott Twine to leave temporarily, despite his very limited game time since his return from injury last month.

Last season’s League One Player of the Year has played less-than half-an-hour of football in cameos from the bench and didn’t play any part in the Clarets’ 4-2 win over AFC Bournemouth in the third round of the FA Cup.

He said: "There is absolutely no (chance), there is no intention to even consider it.

"The only thing we are looking at is what helps us win a game, we are very aware of his skills and what he can give us. But the strength of our team is that we have options.

"There is no reason not to put on Nathan Tella when you can, Churlinov, Barnesy is doing extremely well, Johann Gudmundsson and the game he played.

"He (Twine) is a young player at a level he has never experienced before. But his moment will be there and it is for him to prove and he has to keep himself ready."