CHRIS Eagles is rumoured to be on the wanted list of Premier League strugglers West Bromwich Albion, but the Burnley midfielder insists: “I just love playing for the club at the moment.”

Eagles’ fifth goal of the season secured an important 3-2 win against top six rivals Sheffield United on Saturday, after he added to Martin Paterson’s opener and Graham Alexander’s first-half penalty with an excellent solo effort.

Some sparkling performances in both the league and Carling Cup since his summer move from Manchester United have attracted the attention of top flight clubs.

Eagles has made no secret of his desire to return to the Premier League one day, but it was the promise of regular first-team football, and the free-flowing style that Burnley manager Owen Coyle demands, which encouraged the talented 23-year-old to take the step down to the Championship.

And it is Coyle he credits with his current rich vein of form.

“That’s why I came here because myself and my agent thought he was the type of manager that would push me and that’s what I need,” said Eagles.

“For a manager to encourage me and say the things he has about me is a dream because without him playing me then I wouldn’t be making a name for myself.

“For him to play me, and I’m playing well, and he’s noticing that and commenting on it, it’s a win-win situation and I just love playing for the club at the moment.”

And after Eagles’ 79th minute goal proved decisive in securing a three-point cushion for the fourth-placed Clarets, Coyle said: “It’s probably unheard of for Burnley Football Club to go to Manchester United and sign a first team squad player.

"I said to him at the time, when you leave Manchester United, wherever you go in world football it's a step down.

"But he can take one step back to take two steps forward and try to aspire to play in the Premier League again.

"With his performances he's shown he's more than capable of that.

"Aside from his goal, there's his change of pace, he's prepared to go and commit and take people on.

"For me, the best sight in football is the ball hitting the back of the net; second to that is wide players taking full backs on because people get off their seats thinking something's going to happen.

"I thought there was a lot of that from both teams (on Saturday) and Chris Eagles really summed it up.

"I thought his play was everything that, as a manager, you're looking for in a player."

But the Burnley boss stressed that Eagles still had plenty of work to do to.

"We're delighted to have him and we work with him on a daily basis trying to improve him because he knows, because I tell him, he's nowhere near the finished article.

"He's got a lot of improvement in him.

"He's got an unbelievable engine, as we know, but we're trying to guide him in the right direction for how to use all that energy so that it benefits the football club, and he's responding to that.

"He's one of the nicest lads I've ever come across in football, he wants to do so well for you, and we're privileged, I think, to have him."

Eagles' contribution to Burnley's Carling Cup fourth round win at Chelsea was a defining moment for him personally, as well as the club.

"Beating Chelsea at their ground was a big step for everyone, and myself - to prove to myself that I can actually play Premiership football," he said, before adding: "I can't tell the future but I'm enjoying my football at the moment, I'm young and I'm just enjoying playing, and obviously winning. That's the main part.

"Every game in this league is hard and every point that we get is important.

"Every game we wipe the slate clean. We just want to go from A to B and get the points along the way because every point in this league is vital because if you win two games you're in the top six, you lose two and you're in the bottom three. It's very, very tight."