Burnley boss Sean Dyche has vented his frustration at what he sees as a “new level” of spending being displayed by Sky Bet Championship rivals Derby County and Middlesbrough this season.
This summer has seen Dyche lose instrumental players Danny Ings, Kieran Trippier and more recently to Derby, his captain, Jason Shackell to add to the challenge faced to earn promotion for the Clarets at the first attempt after last season's relegation.
The latter of those deals appears to have sparked Dyche into making some inflammatory comments regarding the financial muscle of some clubs, with Dyche commenting to the Lancashire Post:
“The numbers Derby are putting around now, if anyone’s throwing money at it they certainly are, both for the players and for their situation”. Dyche also questioned his former captain’s motive for the move back to the East Midlands, stating that the deal was “money-motivated”.
Money talks
Shackell, 31, was seen as a key target for Derby County over the pre-season and despite Dyche on several occasions declaring that he was not for sale, Derby continued their pursuit and ultimately bagged their man. It is believed to have taken the Rams’ summer spending to in excess of £12million, despite the majority of the deals being undisclosed.
In addition to Derby flexing their financial muscle, Middlesbrough have also purchased ex-player and England international, Stewart Downing from West Ham and are believed to have tabled a £10million-plus offer for Blackburn Rovers striker Jordan Rhodes, which would be a record fee for a player outside of the top tier of English football.
Espanyol and Uruguay forward Christian Stuani, meanwhile, is waiting on international clearance to complete his £3.6million move to Teesside.
In comparison, Burnley, despite having the luxury of parachute payments to fall back on following their season in the Premier League, have purchased former Boro loanee Jelle Vossen from Genk for £2.5million and Matt Lowton from Aston Villa to reinforce their squad.
Numbers game
Dyche continued in his assessment of the situation by adding, “Some of the numbers thrown around the Championship, let along the Premier League, it moves on and it keeps moving on”
Although he stated that there were “no angles” to his comments about either club, it is clear that the inability to compete financially at least has frustrated the manager. He went on to claim that Derby were paying “record contracts” out for players, despite the club missing out on promotion after last season's late collapse.