Farhad Moshiri should urge Marcel Brands to secure a quick sale of Jonjoe Kenny amid claims Everton are pricing the defender out of a move to Burnley.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, the Clarets are increasingly confident of signing Kenny during the closing stages of the January transfer window after talks reached an advanced stage.

Sean Dyche had set his sights on securing the right-back’s services this month as he bids to steer Burnley clear of the relegation zone, with Kenny struggling to earn game time at Goodison Park under Carlo Ancelotti.

Kenny has previously been suggested to be receptive to a move to Turf Moor having featured on only eight occasions thus far this term, and playing just 17 minutes across all competitions since Everton lost 2-1 at Newcastle United at the start of November.

But, while Football Insider add that Everton would cash-in on Kenny for £7m, reports by the Sunday Mirror (24/1, p. 67) had suggested the former England Under 21 international was being priced out of a move as Burnley refused to match the Blues’ demands of £10m.

The tabloid paper further suggested Kenny is seen as a realistic target for Dyche following American investment group ALK Capital buying an 84% stake in the Lancashire outfit, yet meeting Everton’s valuation would take up too much of the Turf Moor club’s January budget.

Time to go

Everton cannot afford to see Kenny’s potential move to Burnley fall through this month, as the right-back is clearly not up to the standards Ancelotti demands of his players given the Italian has frequently opted to overlook the Toffees product.

Kenny would have hoped to be given far more than a 14-minute run out as a late substitute in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup if he had a future at Goodison Park, but instead came on to play at left-back to afford Ben Godfrey a rest with the game already wrapped up.

Moshiri, then, should urge Everton’s Director of Football Brands to seal a quick sale with Burnley and lock in as much guaranteed cash as possible this month, with Kenny also now inside the final 18-months of his £15,000-per-week contract.

Everton will be in a far weaker position to negotiate a lofty fee if Kenny reaches the final year of his deal without playing regularly between now and the summer, so ought to see the alleged £7m as a far better asking price than the unattractive £10m proposed.

The Toffees can always include add-on clauses and a potential sell-on fee in their deal for the 23-year-old, who is almost guaranteed to be given a new lease of life at Turf Moor with Matt Lowton and Phil Bardsley both currently out of contract in the summer.

The chance to earn greater sums down the line is therefore within Everton’s clutches with Burnley, but that chance will likely fade away by the summer if Kenny is forced to stay put in the wilderness this month.

AND in other news, Everton have joined the growing race to sign a lethal £75k-p/w Premier League star…