Hull City, Norwich City, Preston North End, and Stoke City have all ‘been on the phone’ to Burnley’s out of contract striker Ashley Barnes, reports Burnley Express.
Yesterday, it was revealed that Norwich City, Preston North End, and Stoke City were all keeping tabs on Barnes, 33, ahead of his contract expiry at Burnley next month.
But an emerging report from Burnley Express has revealed that the above trio, and Hull City as well, have been on the phone to Barnes ahead of the summer transfer window.
And the striker himself has had his say on his future, telling Burnley Express:
“I want to keep playing. It’s just down to waiting to see what options are about, I’ve got lots of meetings to come and then make the decision from there.”
He continued:
“I’m as fit as a fiddle. Until the body says no then I’ll keep continuing to play and I want to keep continuing to play as long as possible.
“I still feel I can play in the Premier League, without a doubt. But it wasn’t to be here so it’s one of them. I’ll just have to go again and wherever I go, if it’s abroad, if it’s here, I want to win, I want to get promoted again, I want to get another challenge and see what’s what.”
The race for Barnes…
Barnes showed this season that he can still provide at Championship level and so it’s no surprise to see so many teams looking to sign him, and doing it so early into the summer.
But the striker looks to be keeping his options open. He might well be waiting to see what teams come down from the Premier League or maybe even who goes up from the play-offs to see if he has a chance of playing top flight football again.
Expect more and more teams to join this transfer chase in the coming weeks. But all of Hull City, Norwich City, Preston, and Stoke City could be attractive destinations for Barnes, who rolled back the years this season.
