Dyche: Gers ‘well backed’ if they can pay Barton wages
SEAN DYCHE, the Burnley manager, believes Rangers must be “well backed” and are showing their intentions for next season by pursuing a deal for midfielder Joey Barton.
Mark Warburton has already completed moves for three players ahead of Rangers’ return to the Ladbrokes Premiership and Dyche admits Barton “is not cheap” as he closes in on a move to Ibrox.
The 33-year-old is out of contract at Turf Moor and the Sky Bet Championship winners have made an offer to keep him at the club for their return to the Barclays Premier League, but the offer of a longer contract in Glasgow could persuade him to join Rangers.
Barton travelled north of the border on Saturday and was given a tour of Murray Park and Ibrox as boss Warburton looks to add the former Manchester City, Newcastle United and QPR star to his squad.
“Fair play to Rangers, it shows the clout they have, because if they’re talking to him, he’s not cheap,” Dyche said. “It shows their intentions if they see it as viable, they must be backed well.”
Barton was named in the Championship Team of the Year as Burnley won promotion this month but has courted controversy throughout his career as he has grabbed the headlines for a series of incidents and found himself reprimanded by clubs and the football authorities in England.
Warburton has already completed deals for Accrington Stanley pair Matt Crooks and Josh Windass, while Liverpool kid Jordan Rossiter penned a four-year deal at Ibrox last week.
The capture of Barton would be a real coup for Warburton ahead of the new campaign and Dyche, a friend of the Gers boss and Head of Recruitment Frank McParland, insists he has had no issues with the midfielder.
“We’ll give him as long as he needs,” Dyche said. “He took time to come to us last year, there were a couple of different things and he wanted to make sure it was the right place and environment.
“I’ve said all along, he’s a man, not a boy, his contract runs out this summer, he knows our position on it and he’s got his chance to look around and do what he needs to do.”