Burnley transfer dossier: Replacing Joey Barton as important as replicating Andre Gray success

Burnley secured an immediate return to the Premier League after beating big-spenders Middlesbrough to clinch the Championship title. The achievement, with one game to spare was impressive but the Clarets know better than anyone that something special is required to consolidate Premier League status. The club won promotion to the top flight in 2009 and 2014 only to be relegated to the second division the following campaign.

Business so far

The Clarets are yet to make any addition to the squad that secured promotion to the Premier League, but have suffered a major blow after the club's player of the year Joey Barton decided to snub a new offer to move to Rangers.

Burnley have also released goalkeeper Matthew Gilks, defender Michael Duff, midfielder Matt Taylor, winger Lloyd Dyer, Danijel Nizic and striker Jason Gilchrist after their contracts expired.

What they need

Sean Dyche's has been a success since he arrived at Turf Moor in 2012 but things could have been even better if he had been given more funds. Money is not always everything but as Watford and Bournemouth have proved this term it can help.

In the 2014-2015 season the Clarets spent around £9m on the likes of George Boyd, Lukas Jutkiewicz, former Manchester United starlet Michael Keane, Michael Kightly, Marvin Sordell and Stephen Ward. The result was an immediate relegation to the Championship.

Last summer, despite being in the Championship, the club broke its transfer record to sign Brentford striker Andre Gray for a fee close to £9m to plug the gap left by the departure of Danny Ings to Liverpool. The club also spent some money to bring in the likes of James Tarkowski, Jelle Vossen, Rouwen Hennings, Matt Lowton, Chris Long and Tendayi Darikwa while Joey Barton joined them on a free transfer. The gamble with Gray has paid off as they are back in the Premier League after just one year thanks to the striker's 25 goals and a back-bone of their old team.

Dyche now needs to utilise the £120m income generated from the promotion and replicate the successful acquisition of Gray with more shrewd signings.

The first priority is to find someone with the experience of Joey Barton to lead his side from the midfield. Meanwhile, Sam Vokes has made an impressive impact in the Championship but Dyche may still need a proven scorer to partner Gray.

Who could join

Burnley have been linked with Henri Lansbury in recent transfer windows and the departure of Barton to Rangers has all but reopened the speculation over the Nottingham Forest star's potential move to Turf Moor.

Graham Dorrans, is also said to be on Dyche's shopping list following the relegation of Norwich as he could bring Premier League experience.

Who could leave

Last season Burnley lost two key players in Ings and Kieran Trippier after the duo moved to Liverpool and Tottenham respectively. Dyche hopes to avoid any of his biggest stars like Tom Heaton following the footsteps of Barton, but the keeper has already been linked with a move to Everton to replace Tim Howard.

What the manager has said

The Clarets have been very quiet in recent transfer windows but Dyche has suggested this summer will be busier, hoping the £120m generated by promotion to the Premier League will be used to bolster his squad.

"The money will be massive to the area and to the club in terms of what we can build for the future, but this club still has an appropriate level," he said. "We still have our level, it's as simple as that. Of course that money comes in but guess what? Everyone else is getting it as well.

"The market has shifted and you've got to be part of that market. Eddie Howe has done brilliantly at Bournemouth but they've spent something like £42m this year and the wages to go with it. We spent £10m last time. I'm not saying we'll spend that much but I'll be speaking to the board and saying 'look...the challenge is enormous, what can we do to have a real go at it?"