PREMIER LEAGUE newcomers Burnley may have to break their transfer record if they are to stand any chance of prising promising defender Rhys Williams away from Middlesbrough.

The 20-year-old is rated highly at the Riverside Stadium, where manager Gareth Southgate would be reluctant to lose a player more than capable of playing in the Championship.

But with Burnley able to offer Premier League football, Southgate’s stance will be severely tested if the Clarets made a substantial offer for someone who is yet to figure in the top-flight.

The most Burnley have ever paid for a player was the £1.3m they paid Scunthorpe for Martin Patterson last summer and they would have to trump that just to tempt the Teesside outfit.

Williams spent three months at Turf Moor and played 17 matches during their push to the play-offs, before being unavailable for the Wembley final when they defeated Sheffield United.

But an indication of the high regard Burnley manager Owen Coyle – also interested in Sunderland defender Russell Anderson – has for Williams is the way the Boro defender was invited down to watch that match as a guest.

“We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but I’d love to come back,” said Williams in the immediate aftermath of the Wembley triumph. “It’s not all down to me at the end of the day, it’s down to the two gaffers, but I wouldn’t say no.”

While clubs continue to monitor players such as David Wheater, Tuncay Sanli, Stewart Downing and Robert Huth, Southgate is having to remain patient before he attempts to strengthen his own squad.

Sources close to the club suggest that it would be highly “unlikely” that Middlesbrough will be in the market to sign Marlon Harewood this summer.

Young winger Graeme Owens, meanwhile, is on the verge of signing for Kilmarnock after reaching the end of his Middlesbrough contract, despite interest from Blackpool.

■ Boro will take on Scottish division three champions Dumbarton on July 22 and then travel to Carlisle on July 25.