With both sitting nicely in the table ahead of their clash at the John Smith’s Stadium , Huddersfield Town and Burnley are playing catch-up when it comes to taking on the ‘big boys’ in the transfer market.
That’s the view of Burnley manager Sean Dyche with the January transfer window set to open at midnight on Monday (January 1) – it closes at exactly 11pm on Wednesday, January 31 – and Liverpool are already making headlines with a £75m swoop for Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk .
That’s the most ever paid for a defender, and according to Dyche it’s a deal which can only leave most clubs looking on open-mouthed.
“Nothing is impossible in football, but sometimes probability outweighs possibility,” said the Burnley boss ahead of the transfer window and weekend trip to Town.
“The way it is going it is harder and harder. We saw with Leicester it is not impossible, but it is improbable.
“If you have a team like Manchester City spending £100m on three full-backs, that is an interesting thing.
“With Liverpool you have someone spending £75m on a centre-back and there are not many clubs who can compete with that.
“That £75m is probably pushing our transfer budget forever, or very close.
“That’s one player against the history of another club - in the same division. So that’s going to be hard to narrow the gaps on.”
On the field, however, Dyche believes both his club and Town can ruffle some feathers, winning individual battles even if the longer war may be a fruitless quest.
“If you are buying in the highest end of the market constantly, in any walk of life, there is a fair chance it is going to operate in a higher fashion,” he said.
“But the marvel of the Premier League is you can still have one result. Huddersfield beat Manchester United , so there are random results which occur.”
