Burnley have been one of the surprise packages this season in the Premier League. Under Sean Dyche, the Clarets have gotten themselves a tremendously organised back line, which has conceded only 31 goals so far in the Premier League and they sit comfortably in the 10th position in the league table without any pressure.
To top that, Burnley are one of the rare teams in the league to remain injury free and with a full squad available. However, although Dyche is under no emergency to bring in new players, a potential backup for the first team duo of Ben Mee and Michael Keane has been a constant worry hanging above Dyche.
In Mee and Keane, Burnley have one of the best defending duos, and Dyche have one of the biggest challenges in keeping them fit for the full second season to get any kind of success from this season. The other good option, Kevin Long, has been in and out with injury keeping the manager on shaky grounds.
And the boss has already found his next target. According to reports, the Clarets have agreed on a fee worth in the region of £3.5m with Barnsley for their centre-half Marc Roberts. The 26-year-old has been quite impressive in the Championship this season so far and has now been recognised to make the big move up into the Premier League.
Dyche sees Roberts as an ideal backup for his first team centre-halves. At 183cm, Roberts has a good frame to cope with the aerial threats of the top flight English football. And being an experienced Championship player also makes him habituated to hefty schedules throughout the season, which will be a huge advantage as Burnley enter the second half of the season, which will be pretty much tiring.
Born in the West Yorkshire city of Wakefield, Roberts have come through lower tiers team like Buxton, FC, Workshop Town and Halifax Town before joining Barnsley in 2015, where he has established himself as a first-team player. He has played an important role in helping Barnsley qualify from the League One to the Championship, where he played 89 games scoring nine 9 times.
Roberts has 18 months remaining on his current deal with the club and it is understood that he will agree to personal terms with Burnley in the coming days. Burnley plays some tough opponents like Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool by the next month, where a positive display would more or less concrete their place in the top half of the table.
