Joey Barton has said that Fleetwood are willing to sell winger Wes Burns but only if the price is right.
This news has come as the talented wide man has been attracting interest from a number of clubs, including Middlesborough.
Barton told Fleetwood Today that the club has to be “sensible” in how and when it sells its players:
“We have already had interest for players. We are sensible about it. We want players to come to Fleetwood and help us to get promoted. Off the back of that, bigger clubs with bigger budgets will want to come and steal your best players. We need to make sure they do not get stolen from us and move on with a fair assessment and a fair price for everyone.”
Fleetwood have been touted by many as playoff contenders and Barton is keen to keep hold of his star players but does recognise that the club will have to sell in order to keep the club’s finances in check. However, he does not want to see the club used as simply a stepping stone for players:
“As it stands, I think the club has to sell players. That is something that we have to do. Unfortunately, in the past players have gone out of the building on frees. It has not been ideal. Even this summer we lost Ashley Nadesan, a young player developed from non-league, who walked out for free.
“It was something that happened just before we got here and I could not quite convince him. He decided that he wanted to go earlier on. We did everything we could to keep him. Now we are developing players from our academy for our first team and we want our first-team players to go and play in higher divisions.
“Nothing would make me prouder as a coach than to watch lads who have been part of the journey with us playing for Premier League clubs. It would be fantastic. But to do that they have to be successful here, work hard here and contribute to Fleetwood Town having a successful football culture.”
Though Barton would not name the players attracting interest, it is understood that Wes Burns is one of them. Burns joined the Cod Army in 2017 for an undisclosed, six-figure, fee and has been a first-team regular under Barton.
The club have already rejected a bid from Everton. The 24-year-old has two years to run on his existing deal at Highbury.