Dyche explains exactly why £35m Burnley man is interesting Man Utd
Burnley boss Sean Dyche has explained exactly why he expects the likes of Manchester United to swoop for talented Clarets midfielder Dwight McNeil.
The Sun report that United are keen on taking 20-year-old winger McNeil back to Old Trafford, having released the youngster just over five years ago.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has instructed his United scouts to watch the England U21 international on numerous occasions this season, per the source.
Last month TEAMtalk revealed that Leicester, Wolves and Everton are all chasing England prospect McNeil,while he was linked with Newcastle over the summer.
Dyche has already made it clear he expects McNeil to “outgrow” Burnley eventually, but the left footer has recently signed a new long-term deal.
Dyche said: “Look, we know Dwight is a player who will certainly go beyond us – but in a positive way.
“We don’t remotely want to lose good players. But eventually some players will outgrow the club in the sense of a bigger club coming along and buying them because of their skill set.
“Dwight is clearly a top talent. He is playing and delivering every week.
“If he remains grounded and keeps the hard work ethic he’s got – and I’m sure he will do that – then his talent will continue to shine through. And we’re not naive enough to think it’s going to go unnoticed.
“For a young player he sees the bigger picture very quickly.
“He is seeing the patterns of the game in attack and in defence, smelling out the right positions defensively to stop the opposition, or at least slow them down.
“And equally in attack, he can see the pockets to go and play in. He will run at a defender, carry it forward and take his man on, which is a great weapon in the modern game.
“It’s one you don’t see as much these days. Knowing the time to it is what’s getting better in his game, making the right decisions. I have been very impressed with that part of his development.
“And playing against Manchester City in the form they were in against us can only have helped him – looking at how quickly they work in transition, how quickly their focus changes from attack to defence, and defence to attack.”
Rochdale-born McNeil is valued at around £35million, according to the Mirror.