LEE Grant’s Burnley future is in doubt after the goalkeeper told boss Eddie Howe that he would rather leave Turf Moor this summer if he is to remain second choice to Brian Jensen.

Grant lost his place to Jensen for the final eight games of the 2010/11 campaign and the 28-year-old knows that he needs to be playing first-team football during the peak years of his career.

The keeper has made 31 appearances since joining the Clarets from Sheffield Wednesday last summer and is said to generally feel settled at the club, so is thought to be reluctant to force a move by handing in a transfer request – despite speaking to Howe about his future at the end of the campaign.

Grant, though, is likely to be open to offers from elsewhere if he cannot force his way back into the side, and Burnley boss Eddie Howe may decide not to refuse a reasonable bid for a man who still has two years left on his Turf Moor contract.

Howe would require a replacement in the absence of an experienced third goalkeeping option and it is possible he may consider bringing in a young keeper on the basis that they would start next term as second choice to the Clarets’ number one keeper – a position occupied by Jensen at the end of the season.

Premier League clubs were said to be interested in signing Grant as a number two before the stopper joined Burnley last summer under Brian Laws’ tenure and some of those clubs are thought to have renewed their interest, along with sides in the Championship.

Grant is likely to prefer the chance for regular football, even if that means he might have to turn down offers from the top flight.

The keeper could potentially be an option for Nottingham Forest if Aston Villa follow up their reported interest in Lee Camp, while Burnley are rumoured to be interested in one of Reading’s young keepers.

Danish stopper Mikkel Andersen or former Exeter loanee Ben Hamer are the most likely to be available, with Adam Federici and Alex McCarthy occupying the top two spots in the Royals’ pecking order.

Thirty-five-year-old Jensen had also been considering his Burnley future during the mid-part of the season, handing in a transfer request in December after losing his place to Grant in October.

But the Dane, whose contract expires next summer, withdrew that request following talks with Howe in the weeks after the former Bournemouth manager’s arrival in January, and is likely to be content to stay at Burnley as long as he remains first choice.

* Burnley were yesterday linked with a move for former Chelsea and Birmingham striker Mikael Forssell, 30, who was recently released by German side Hannover.