Burnley's Dyche concerned by high transfer fees

LONDON (Reuters) - Burnley are being handicapped as they prepare to return to the Premier League by the rising level of transfer fees, manager Sean Dyche said on Friday. After being promoted two years ago from the Championship (second tier), the Lancashire club spent no more than three million pounds ($3.97 million) on a single player and were relegated. Splashing a club record nine million pounds on striker Andre Gray a year ago helped them win promotion straight back, but in the current transfer window Dyche has signed only two players, goalkeeper Nick Pope and Iceland international midfielder Johann Berg Gudmundsson, both from Charlton Athletic. "When you see the numbers flying around it is a big challenge," Dyche told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph. "There's certain clubs spending a lot of money, which is probably surprising when people see the amounts on certain players." Even the bottom club in this season's Premier League are guaranteed income of at last 100 million pounds, but Burnley are wary of paying over the odds in fees or wages. "There are quite strict guidelines here as to what the board and the club want to do financially and it's very tough," Dyche added. "I made it clear last time, I made it clear this time and I made it clear in the Championship, it's a club that has to be run properly and that's how the board want it. "It makes it very challenging, it's as simple as that." (Reporting by Steve Tongue, editing by Ed Osmond)