Rumour Mill- The Speculation Summary

Jack Wilshere

The Clarets were favourites to sign the promising Young Gunners midfielder on loan for the rest of the season but it looks like this may have stalled because of an injury crisis at Arsenal.

It was reported in the Mirror yesterday (29th December) that Arsene Wenger has put the deal on ice because of injury concerns over Cesc Fabregas and Denilson.

It is expected that Wilshere could feature in Arsenal's FA Cup game at West Ham this Sunday (3rd Jan) and the Clarets will now have to wait a couple of weeks hoping that the injuries to Cesc Fabregas and Denilson quickly heal allowing Wenger to release Wilshere on loan.

Houston Duo Could Have Lift Off

Burnley have been linked with two players currently plying their trade with Houston Dynamo in the US. Clarets fans will remember this was the club that briefly took Ade Akinbiyi on board before later releasing our former striker after he was unable to break through into their first team. The club are a Major League Soccer outfit and the two players we have been linked with are both midfielders namely, Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark but we face competition from other British clubs for both these potential signings assuming the rumours are true.

The link with Stuart Holden was reported in the Daily Mirror this week but we could face competition from local rivals Blackburn Rovers for his signature. The 24 year old USA international was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and he holds a British passport so he would not need a work permit to come and play in England. The player, who was briefly on Sunderland`s books in 2005 before returning to the US to sign for Houston Dynamo is currently out of contract and is understood to have pursued several options in the UK including clubs in Scotland.

He is an attacking midfielder and can play in the centre of midfield or on either wing. Holden has scored 15 goals in 88 appearances for Dynamo and currently has 12 caps for the USA team having also scored a couple of times for the national side. It is expected that he will part of the USA 2010 World Cup squad and will be travelling out to South Africa for the competition in the summer, where of course he could be playing against England in their World Cup opener.

Ricardo Clark is a 26 year old USA International defensive midfielder born in Atlanta, Georgia. It is understood Celtic are favourites to sign him although if the rumours are true and Burnley are interested then he might be tempted more by the EPL than the SPL.

Clark played for Metro Stars and San Jose Earthquakes before signing for Houston Dynamo for the start of the 2006 season. Since that time he has made nearly 100 appearances for Dynamo and has represented his country 26 times

Tyrone Mears

The Sun reports this week that Birmingham could be interested in signing right back Tyrone Mears. It would appear Brum boss Alex McLeish sees Mears as a potential long-term successor for veteran Stephen Carr and I would hope that if true Owen Coyle and the club see McLeish as barking mad and tells him politely where to stick his brumstick!!

To be honest if the Clarets sell any of our key players in the January window we will know exactly where their ambitions lie and it won`t be in the Premier League!

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