"Would be a big risk" - Burnley pursuing in-form QPR player ahead of summer window | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Burnley are among the clubs planning to chase the signature of QPR’s Jake Clarke-Salter this summer.

According to The Sun, the Clarets are among a number of sides eyeing a move for the centre-back.

The struggling Premier League outfit will face competition from the likes of Wolves, Celtic, Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town though for Clarke-Salter's services,

Jake Clarke-Salter’s importance to QPR

Clarke-Salter has been an important part of the QPR squad this season, featuring 29 times for the club in the Championship (stats from Fbref).

The defender has played regularly under Martí Cifuentes following his arrival as manager in late October.

The 26-year-old has been key to the club’s attempts to earn survival in the second division for another year.

Would Burnley be a good destination for Jake Clarke-Salter?

Here we ask our FLW writers their verdict on whether a move to Burnley would be a good next step in his career…

Declan Harte

Burnley have utilised Jordan Beyer and Dara O’Shea in the heart of their defence in the Premier League for most of the season (with Maxime Esteve coming in following an injury to the former), but relegation looks a likely outcome for Vincent Kompany’s side this season unless they can put a winning run of results together.

There's competition for places at Turf Moor going into next season, Clarke-Salter should fancy his chances of earning a role as a prominent member of the Clarets’ squad should he join.

Burnley’s league status could play a role in determining their pursuit of the centre-back, as the opportunity to play in the top flight may come calling.

Clarke-Salter has performed well alongside Steve Cook since Cifuentes arrived earlier this campaign, having gone from strength to strength under the new manager, and would be a guaranteed starter at Loftus Road next year.

The defender’s passing range will be some cause for concern for Kompany, who wants his players to be comfortable playing with the ball at their feet.

This would be something he will need to work on, as his pass completion percentage is 82.1, and he makes just 1.89 progressive passes per 90.

Some of this limitation may be due to playing in a team competing against relegation from the Championship, and he could work on improving this aspect of his game by playing at a higher level, but it is something to take note of.

QPR will also be keen to keep hold of the player given his importance to the squad, so it could take up to £10 million to convince the London club to cash in.

It remains to be seen whether Burnley would be willing to pay that much, which could hurt their chances of signing him.

Ultimately, Clarke-Salter should prioritise guaranteed game time when deciding his future this summer.

Clarke-Salter is benefiting from a clean bill of health for the first time in a while, and his partnership with Cook at the heart of the QPR defence has helped to turn around the Hoops' fortunes.

Given his Chelsea pedigree and the fact he used to be an England youth international, good performances will likely attract attention for the 26-year-old, but as he reaches his theoretical peak, the Premier League would still be a massive step up from what he has been playing in recent years.

Burnley signed a left-footed centre-back in the January window in Maxime Esteve, and there is a mandatory purchase option for the Frenchman should a certain set of conditions be met - you'd imagine one of those is staying in the Premier League.

Should the Clarets sign Esteve permanently then you'd think there's no real need to spend good money on Clarke-Salter either, but if relegated, there would be worse signings for money in that area of the pitch than the QPR man.

He's definitely coming into his own now at QPR and Burnley will likely have some money to spend to replenish their side even if they cannot fend off the drop, so it could be a smart signing for the right price - anything around the £5 million mark would be fair but going above that figure would be a big risk.