"That one specifically did not cross my desk" - Burnley chairman Alan Pace on transfer speculation

Last weekend, there was unfounded speculation that the Clarets were interested in Santos winger Arthur Gomes, who ended up signing for Estoril in Portugal.

Clubs and representatives across the continent and beyond are seemingly aware of Burnley’s search for wide players, and with the spending power of the Premier League, English clubs are often used to hike up the fee.

And despite the club’s reliance in the main on the domestic market, Pace insists Burnley are looking to spread the net further afield.

He was somewhat amused by that particular link, but with Burnley linked with a endless stream of players, he admitted: “I would say probably half of those things that happen aren't necessarily true, or at least somebody else's agenda other than ours.

“I am not going to squash people's dreams and publications, because it gives things for people to talk about.

“We do have ambitions on the Latin America side, but you have to be really cautious because if you are going to take somebody, you have to have somebody who wants to play here and in the Premier League and is going to give the effort.

“Sean has a style of playing and a fitness level that has to be adhered to.

“If you are going to come here, you better be prepared to work, because otherwise it ain't going to work.

“I have noticed that, and I am not at the training ground.

“People have to put that into their mind when we come back to how we think about things and then you use your own lens.

“Is the person being spoken about in the press likely to live, work and be part of the culture we are trying to create?

“If we get through that and it is a yes, I don't care what country they come from, if you can get that from a starting point.

“Then you get into economics, personality and the other stuff.

“What tends to happen is someone is trying to create something to happen but that one specifically did not cross my desk, I didn't even know about it.”

Transfer gossip is a big driver of social media and online gossip in this day and age, and Pace completely understands the fans’ interest, as he and the club look to add to the squad over the last fortnight of the transfer window: “That's half the fun of waking up every morning, to see what people think during the window.

“I think that is a good thing because sometimes it is a daydream, a nightmare, an illusion; and sometimes, once in a while, a reality.

“It is kind of knowing which one of those four things it is, it is left up to the reader and the writer, and those are the things that are kind of cool about the way we all get to play in this thing, because it is all a little bit like Football Manager.

“Coming back to the approval process, it is not nearly as free-flowing as people think, because we have tightened it down pretty well.”