Irish defender Kevin Long was a notable absentee from Burnley’s matchday squad for their final pre-season friendly of the summer.
Long, who can play in the centre of defence or a full-back, is reportedly the subject of strong interest from Nottingham Forest, with Sabri Lamouchi wanting to strengthen his defensive ranks following injuries to Yohan Benalouane and Tendayi Darikwa.
Sean Dyche’s Clarets suggested Long, along with James Tarkowski, were both left out of the squad to face Parma at Turf Moor because of injury.
“Both James Tarkowski and Kevin Long miss out today with injury niggles,” the Clarets said.
Republic of Ireland man Long was linked with a move to the Championship, while England defender Tarkowski has been talked about as a possible replacement for Leicester City's Harry Maguire, should he complete his £80m move to Manchester United.
Clarets boss Dyche has previously stressed that he is under no pressure to sell players this summer, unless it will benefit the club, while Reds chief Lamouchi has confirmed the club are working on recruiting in that area, despite having Matty Cash and Jayden Richardson able to perform at right-back.
“We are looking for a right-back, of course. We cannot stay like this. The club are working on this position," the Frenchman said on Friday.
“Matty can do a job for us in the meantime, yes. This is not his first position, but we have been trying him in this position.
“I am sure he can do it. He has a lot of quality and he can play in this position for us.
“And behind him we have Jayden Richardson from the academy. He is so good, but he is also so young. We want to keep him with us.
“But we need to bring in somebody with experience and more leadership, to play in this position.”
