Clarets: No need to sell stars

The Sunday papers claimed Fulham are to bid £4m for 21-goal Ings, while Stoke City are interested in Trippier.

The pair have been linked with a plethora of clubs in the January window, but Burnley’s stance, as outlined at the shareholders’ meeting in December, hasn’t changed.

Joint chairman John Banazskiewicz said on the night: “Sometimes things change, sometimes a player wants to go, but we will do our best to keep them. It would be a disaster if we sell those players (in January).”

The feeling is that, with the club challenging for promotion and the huge money pot that comes with being in the Premier League, it would make little sense to cash in on their crown jewels now.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Burnley, along with Watford and Wigan, have been rebuffed in their bid to take Chelsea’s 18-year-old defender Nathan Ake on loan.

Ake can play as a left back, centre back or holding midfielder.

The Clarets are recharging the batteries ahead of their last 20 games with a warm-weather training camp in Alicante, Spain.

The players left for the four-day camp on Sunday morning, with no game until a week tonight, when Brighton are the visitors to Turf Moor.

Burnley went into the break on the back of a 1-1 draw at home to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, which saw the Clarets slip to third in the Championship, after QPR leapfrogged them with a 2-1 win over Huddersfield Town at Loftus Road.

Dyche feels the break - a first since the November internationals - could have come at a good time: “I think we’ve had 18 players start games for us this season - that’s unusual because the norm is about 27.

“They’re giving everything with that mixture we want, good energy, good framework to play from and some really good quality. We’re happy with that but the break, going in to March when there are a particular number of games coming up, we will get chance to refuel, reenergise and bring them back, hopefully in good spirits to carry on.”

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