BURNLEY are continuing to talk to Danny Ings and his agent as they look to tie down last season’s top scorer to a new deal.

The 22-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and has been linked with a move away from Turf Moor.

The Clarets would be entitled to compensation should he opt to move, as he is under 24, but they are keen to avoid such a scenario and Sean Dyche said talks with the player and his representatives had been going on for several months.

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Ings signed a four-year deal with the club when he arrived from Bournemouth for £1m in August 2011.

“We’ve always been speaking to him and his agent,” said Dyche.

“That’s been going on for months to be honest.

“That’s not a recent thing, it’s just an ongoing conversation.”

After scoring six goals in 48 games over his first two seasons, he hit 26 last season and his strike partnership with Sam Vokes was instrumental in Burnley’s promotion to the Premier League.

The England Under 21 international has had an injury hit start to this campaign, missing three games with a hamstring strain. He was back in the starting lineup against West Ham and will continue to look for his first top flight goal when Everton visit Turf Moor tomorrow.

Ings is just one member of a fairly inexperienced squad in Premier League terms, and Dyche admits they have had some ‘tough lessons’ so far this season.

“We’re having to learn as we go,” he said. “We haven’t got a very experienced Premier League squad, there’s people who have touched it, there’s people who have maybe had a season but there’s not many who have had three or four seasons.

“It’s learning as we go and there has been some tough lessons to learn already, it’s part of the nature of being in the Premier League, but it’s a group we think are honest enough to keep learning and keep supplying that endeavour to not be too broken by it.”

None of the four strikers used by Dyche has found the back of the net so far this season, and he has called on his team to create a better quality of chances.

“Chances and quality of chances are where it’s at,” he said. “Are we creating enough chances? Yes I think we are. Can we create even better quality chances? Yes I think we can. We created a number against West Ham that I think we’re good quality, so then it does go down to someone has got take one.”

The Clarets dominated the opening 45 minutes against the Hammers, but then found themselves 2-0 down inside 15 minutes of the restart, and Dyche said the ‘performance just seemed to lull a little bit’ during that period, something he is keen to avoid happening again.

After eight games with a win in the Premier League, Burnley will be looking to break that duck tomorrow.

Everton found form domestically last week with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa last week, and then had a goalless draw in France against Lille in the Europa League on Thursday night.

The Toffees have lost both league games immediately after they have played in Europe so far this season, but it is not something that Dyche thinks is likely to be an issue for the visitors tomorrow.

“I don’t think it’s quite the same as it was a few years ago,” he said. “I know there’s some stat that they haven’t won after their journeys, but these boys now, especially at that level, they’re off the pitch, they’re on the tarmac, get on the plane, get off the plane this end and back home by midnight, it took us longer to get from Ipswich last year.”

Dean Marney is described as ‘touch and go’ for tomorrow after recovering from a hamstring injury, while Steven Reid is back in training but won’t be in the squad.

Matt Taylor underwent an operation on his Achilles earlier this week and will be out for ‘weeks’, according to Dyche.