Alexis Sanchez’s huge wages, should his deal to Manchester United be completed, will cause inflation in the game with an impact on smaller clubs, Burnley manager Sean Dyche said on Thursday.
Sanchez could make his debut for United against Dyche’s team at Turf Moor on Saturday if the transfer from Arsenal is completed in time.
British media reported that United are prepared to pay the striker more than 350,000 pounds ($485,000) per week, which would make him the highest earner in the Premier League. Burnley’s top earning players are believed to be on around a tenth of that figure.
“It creates a tougher challenge because every time one of the super powers spends enormous money on a player that drip-feeds down the market,” Dyche said.
“So every player you then phone about has miraculously gone considerably up in value because they’ll look and say it doesn’t mean he’s as good but he must be somewhere nearer on a sliding scale,” he added.
“So where does the next move from us come from? Where’s the next valuation on one of our players or one of our targets?”
Although Burnley have one of the smaller budgets in the Premier League, they have risen to seventh place this season but Dyche says the gap between the rich clubs and others remains significant.
“There’s a talent pool for that top end of the market and we have to look at a different market. I don’t think any of us are surprised by the gap in the Premier League, I think it’s been there a long time and it’s getting harder year on year since the business model for football has changed,” he said.
“The problem is the clubs are moving forward and we’re at the back of it, and it’s hard to keep up. But that’s the ongoing challenge of being at Burnley Football Club and I enjoy that challenge,” Dyche added.
―Reuters
