DYCHE HAS HIS £900m CENTRE BACK

Burnley will today host the owners of the £75million centrehalf on the back of a 10th clean sheet from an entire defence which cost less than £15m. For manager Sean Dyche, himself a former stopper, it is not rocket science. ‘We haven’t got magic dust,’ he said after his side were robbed of a deserved victory at a tired Huddersfield by a shocking non-penalty call from referee Paul Tierney. ‘We work on a simplistic, but detailed format — if that makes sense. We don’t try to confuse the players, but there’s a lot of detail that goes into the planning. That then gives them the framework to go and deliver and they have done that really well.’ One of those to benefit from Dyche’s mentoring has been James Tarkowski, a £5m pickup from Brentford, suspended here but who has attracted admiring glances from other clubs. Given the world-record pricetag on Virgil van Dijk’s head, how much would it take to prise the 25-year-old Tarkowski away from Turf Moor? ‘£900 million,’ said Dyche. Dyche’s Clarets ended the year in seventh spot in the Premier league and there was more evidence of their progress at the John Smith’s Stadium, where they bullied their hosts. Had it not been for Tierney’s secondhalf error, when Town keeper Jonas lossl took away Jeff Hendrick’s trailing leg in the area, they would have picked up another three points. David Wagner, the Huddersfield manager who takes his 11thplaced side to leicester City today, reflected on ‘a lucky point’ and pondered January transfer activity. ‘We will have our eye on the market and if we can and if it makes sense, then we will try to do something,’ he said. ‘If not, then I am happy with my squad.’