da dobrowinAccording to Sky Sports, West Brom have quoted Burnley a fee of £40 million for Craig Dawson and Jay Rodriguez.

da esoccer bet: Reportedly, Burnley have yet to meet the Baggies’ demands, though Craig Dawson has since handed in an official transfer request. If the Clarets maintain their interest, then this is a deal that looks like it could happen this summer.

The addition of Dawson – who is as equally adept at centre-back as he is at right-back – to Sean Dyche’s squad would likely force Kevin Long even further down the pecking order at Turf Moor.

Long is already a back up option, serving as cover for the settled pairing of James Tarkowski and Ben Mee. Dyche would likely consider Dawson capable of combining his right-back duties with providing cover for the first choice central pairing. This would make Long fourth in line for game time, whilst working under a manager who avoids chopping and changing his starting XI as much as possible.

At 27-years-old, Long may feel at this stage of his career that he’d prefer to be playing week in week out. That would probably necessitate a drop to Championship level for the Republic of Ireland international.

The Breakdown

Leeds United will be desperate to bring in defensive reinforcements during this transfer window.

With only three centre-backs currently on the books at Elland Road, and Liam Cooper having struggled to perform with any consistency last season, the arrival of a centre-back with Premier League experience would be welcomed with open arms.

Given the issues Leeds have at the back, Kevin Long would almost certainly be a guaranteed starter upon his arrival. 

If first team football is what Long wants, then this is a move that suits all involved. 

Transfermarkt value Long at £2.25 million, making him a potential bargain for Leeds this summer.