With clubs below them hitting the panic button and deciding on managerial changes in a bid to stay in the Premier League this season, all has been calm at Turf Moor as Sean Dyche has led his Burnley side to the relative safety of a mid table position.
That is largely down to their incredible home form which has seen them pick up an astonishing 25 out of their 26 points in front of their own fans. When you add the fact that they are yet to win away from home it makes their current league placing all the more impressive.
Many pundits say that you need to pick up points on the road if you are to have any hope of staying up but Burnley seem to dispelling that notion with some ease. They have managed to turn their home into a fortress and right now will not feel the need to be looking over the shoulders when it comes to their league position.
Like all managers this month, Sean Dyche will look to add a couple of new additions to his squad in an attempt to keep this Burnley momentum going and who knows even secure themselves a top half finish come the end of the season.
And with that in mind let’s now look at three potential transfer targets for The Clarets
Yuto Nagatomo
Burnley are not necessarily known for buying players from abroad but that could all change if they manage to sign one of their top transfer targets this month. That is because Sean Dyche has been eyeing up Yuto Nagatomo as of late and is now poised to make a £7m offer in a bid to acquire the Japanese international.
Nagatomo who is currently playing at Italian giants Inter Milan had recently extended his contract up until 2019 after joining the club for Cesena back in 2011 and now will have to weigh up whether or not it’s time to end a stint in Serie A and embark on a new challenge with Burnley.
The 30 year old has been somewhat of a squad player with Inter this season with just 11 appearances to his name in all competitions and he may well feel that the offer of first team football each week is one that is too good to turn down.
Not only could Nagatomo bring a wealth of experience but he would also bring a large amount of versatility as he can be deployed in a number of wide roles and it’s that versatility that would be help boost a Burnley squad that has sometimes lacked genuine quality this season.
Charlie Taylor
If they are not successful in landing Nagatomo then they may well look closer to home, that’s because they have also been tracking the progress of Leeds United’s Charlie Taylor. The left back position has been one that has identified as top of this month’s shopping list and Taylor is a name that keeps coming up in terms of transfer targets.
What makes this situation all the more interesting is the fact that Taylor is out of contract in the Summer and is refusing to sign a new deal at Elland Road and due to the contract uncertainty that surrounds the 23 year old Burnley now could be set to take full advantage.
Taylor who can also play as a left winger has been a feature of the first team squad at Leeds for the past three seasons after previous loan moves at Bradford and York and with his performances helping Garry Monk’s men into The Championship play-off positions he has naturally attracted attention from top flight scouts.
Leeds now have a difficult decision to make, as their fans especially would be loathed to see him depart during this transfer window. But with a price tag of £7m believed to have been quoted they will not want to see him walk away from the club for nothing once his contract expires therefore they may well have to begrudgingly cash in on their star asset.
Max Gradel
Another player who is on Burnely’s radar is Bournemouth’s Max Gradel. The 29 year old is currently away on international duty with the Ivory Coast for the Africa Cup of Nations with the possibility that by the time he returns he may well be playing for a new club.
The former Leeds United winger was bought back to English football in 2015 by Eddie Howe after a four year spell in France. But it’s fair to say that Gradel’s second stint on the South Coast has not been a particularly happy one with the Ivorian suffering a serious cruciate ligament injury last season.
That injury saw him make only 15 league appearances in his first season at the club, while this campaign has fared no better as he has featured just 5 times as a substitute. That has been enough for Gradel to prompt for a move away from The Vitality Stadium as he now feels his future lies elsewhere.
The hope for Burnley is they can conclude a deal before the end of the month, although with the Ivory Coast’s expected long participation in the Africa Cup of Nations they may not see Gradel make his bow for the club until early February.