Former Burnley captain Frank Sinclair has lauded Clarets midfielder Jeff Hendrick and hopes that the club can soon arrange a new contract for him.
The Republic of Ireland international’s current deal expires at the end of the month and he has been the subject of reported transfer interest from AC Milan (Sky Sports), Roma (Calciomercato) and Newcastle (Chronicle Live).
Speaking to Genting Bet [via Burnley Express], Sinclair said: “Jeff Hendrick has been a great servant to Burnley. Hendrick sums up the type of player which Sean Dyche wants. He wants a midfield player that will work for the team and is technically very good.
“Sometimes, the workload that they cover sort of covers the actual technical ability of some of those players at Burnley. I’ve been fortunate enough to go into Burnley quite a few times and watch training, shadow the manager and get his ideas on these players.
“He certainly think that Hendrick is a terrific player so I don’t think he particularly wants to lose him. Ultimately, it’s down to the player and I’m sure you know there’s been players that the manager will look at to replace Hendrick if and when he does go.”
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Sinclair is right to laud Hendrick, who has again made some valuable contributions to Burnley during the 2019/20 season. The 28-year-old has chipped in with three goals and two assists, his scoring tally bettered only by strikers Chris Wood, Jay Rodriguez and Ashley Barnes.
He is also one of the most reliable players in possession at Turf Moor, his passing success rate of 75.6% the fourth highest in Dyche’s squad. However, his tackling and interception averages of 0.8 are among the middle of the spectrum at Burnley rather than near the top. [via WhoScored]
The fact that he has started at least 22 Premier League games in each of his four seasons with the Clarets, while needing just six more appearances to make it four campaigns in a row where he has reached the 30-game mark in the division (as per WhoScored), highlights that Dyche shows a great deal of trust in him.
Hopefully Burnley can persuade Hendrick to commit his future to the club, although it would be understandable if he wishes to try his luck elsewhere given the juncture where he is at in his career.
Burnley fans, do you share Sinclair’s views on Hendrick? Tell us what you think by commenting below!
