Transfer News: Burnley boss Sean Dyche looking to strengthen his midfield in January

Burnley manager Sean Dyche is ready to spend in January as he looks to ensure the club’s Premier League survival, with midfield top of his priority list.

The Clarets currently sit 19th in the table, two points from safety, but last Saturday’s defeat to QPR was their first in five games and there are signs the team is improving.

Now Dyche has revealed he is ready to enter the market in the January transfer window and he has identified central midfield as the area he is most keen to strengthen.

"We're looking to strengthen with the right players," Dyche said. "There's certain areas that we possibly need to build further than others. We've not got great depth in central midfield.

"It's supply and demand, availability of players and the ones that fit the team but also the financial model of the club.

"There will be finance, we know that, but we've already seen the finance involved in the Premier League is considerable.

“It's how far the club want to go towards affecting the situation, if and when the right player comes available."

While midfield is an area of concern for Dyche, central defence is less so with on-loan Manchester United defender Michael Keane impressing the Clarets boss in recent weeks.

With Michael Duff sidelined by a calf injury, Keane has started three games in a row and Dyche admits he will have a selection headache when Duff returns.

"For a young man going into the Premier League he's done well and I thought he was very good at QPR," Dyche added.

"With Duffo - he's done well this season - so it was a case of picking on form. Now Keano comes in and he's done well, so it will be interesting when we've got everyone fit."

However another on-loan player, Nathaniel Chalobah, looks set to return to Chelsea when his loan expires next month after Dyche admitted he is finding it difficult to adapt top flight football.

Chalobah arrived at Turf Moor on transfer deadline day hoping to impress Blues boss Jose Mourinho and prove he could break into the Blues first team.

But in the week 18-year-old Ruben Loftus-Cheek's senior debut earned so much attention, Chalobah, a man who once made the Chelsea bench at 15, is struggling to build on the early hype which surrounded him.

He has played no part in the Clarets' last five games and Dyche admitted the Barclays Premier League's unforgiving nature has limited the teenager's opportunities.

"He's a young player learning, earning his spurs and developing, and this is a tough league to do all those things in and do them every week," said Dyche.

"Behind the scenes he's working hard and should he get his chance, he'll be ready to take it."

When asked whether Chalobah would be returning to Stamford Bridge in January, Dyche simply replied: "We'll wait and see. We'll stumble across that bridge when we have to."