Burnley suffer £6m Tottenham transfer miss

Burnley are preparing for life back in the Championship after suffering a 19th place finish in the Premier League last season. The Clarets earned promotion with a second place finish in 2025 under Scott Parker, but he was unable to maintain the club’s position in the top flight. This led to the 45-year-old’s dismissal in April, and a protracted saga to find his replacement that only concluded earlier this week. A number of names had been linked with the role, including Craig Bellamy and Steven Gerrard, but ultimately the Lancashire outfit appointed Nicky Hayen to the role. The Belgian will be hoping to lead Burnley to promotion in the upcoming campaign, but first he will want to shape the squad to his liking using the transfer market. The Championship side have until 1 September to complete any of their transfer plans. Burnley miss out on Tottenham Hotspur deal It has been reported by Alan Nixon that Burnley missed out on a deal to sign Alfie Devine from Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month. The 21-year-old spent last season on loan with Preston North End, where he contributed eight goals and six assists from 45 league appearances. But the Lilywhites missed their deadline to complete a permanent move for £4.5 million as part of the loan agreement. This opened the door for the Clarets, who were reportedly willing to meet the £6 million asking price set by Spurs. However, the club contacted Devine over a possible move and he rejected the opportunity to move to Turf Moor, where a manager still hadn’t been appointed. The youngster ultimately did sign for Preston on a permanent basis, with Burnley’s Lancashire rivals reaching an agreement with the Premier League side worth £6 million. Should Alfie Devine have signed for Burnley instead of staying at Preston? Comment your opinion below Devine was also the subject of interest from Celtic, where Martin O’Neill was pushing to complete a deal, but they were unable to convince the player to make the switch. The playmaker agreed a deal with the Lilywhites to keep him at the club until June 2031, and he is likely to be a key figure under Paul Heckingbottom next season. Hayen will now be looking to make his first addition to the team since becoming head coach, with the Clarets’ only signing this summer being the permanent arrival of Florentino after his initial loan spell last season. The Clarets begin the new campaign on 16 August with a home clash against West Ham. Burnley have wasted a lot of this summer already Burnley decided to dismiss Parker back in April and his replacement was only found in July, and there has been no step forward in the recruitment process in this time. The Clarets have wasted a lot of the summer, while other clubs have their managers in place and signings already in the door. This is putting them on the backfoot going into the new campaign, and losing out on a player like Devine is another sign of poor management behind the scenes. Given the season he enjoyed at Deepdale, staying at Preston was always likely to be on the cards, so Burnley have ended up wasting their time trying to convince him otherwise.