Burnley demand ‘significant fee’ for Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Leeds United target

Burnley have placed a hefty price tag on reported Newcastle United and Aston Villa target Nathan Collins.

The Clarets are keen to hold on to the defender despite their relegation from the Premier League and will only listen to offers of around £25million, according to The Mirror.

Their desperation to hold on to one of their prized assets will only be increased by the fact new manager Vincent Kompany will prepare for his first season in charge without the services of long-serving defensive duo James Tarkowski and Ben Mee.

That may offer Collins a chance to become a regular feature of Kompany’s side after he was one of the high points of a poor season at Turf Moor last time out.

Following a £12million move from Championship club Stoke City, Collins went on to make 22 appearances in all competitions and firmly established himself in the Clarets side by the end of the campaign.

His form during the early part of the season led to a first call-up to the Republic of Ireland senior side and he made his debut in a 4-0 friendly win against World Cup Finals hosts Qatar in October last year.

Collins has since earned five more senior caps and scored his first goal for his country in last week’s UEFA Nations League meeting with Ukraine.

The defender admitted being on international duty had taken his mind off his own future and the Clarets relegation from the Premier League.

He told The Times: “I had a week away and club football was on my mind constantly, so I needed this (international call-up).

“The lads have been good to me, they have helped me out and I needed to just play football. Take my mind off club football and concentrate on this.”

Eddie Howe is believed to be keen to add at least one centre-back to his squad as Newcastle continue to hold talks with Lille over a possible deal for Dutch Under-21 international Sven Botman.