Long exits Cork as Burnley deal sealed

BURNLEY last night completed the signing of Cork City defender Kevin Long for an undisclosed six-figure fee on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

Long will link up with the Premier League new boys in January when the transfer window reopens for business.

The 19-year-old has been on the Clarets’ radar for some time and it is thought they have beaten off competition from elsewhere to land him.

Long only broke into Cork’s first XI this season having progressed through their youth system before receiving his first call-up into Republic of Ireland’s U21 squad.

Clarets boss Owen Coyle is confident he has landed a player of considerable potential.

“We are delighted to have signed Kevin and beaten off stiff competition from north and south of the border for his services,’’ he said.

“He is a young, aggressive and quick left-sided centre-back who is hungry to keep improving and will go straight into our first-team squad when he joins us.

“He has got everything you want in that type of player and I would like to thank Cork’s chairman Tom Coughlan for his courtesy and professionalism during negotiations.’’

Meanwhile Stephen Hunt feels Hull can now head into a tough month of fixtures with confidence after finding their scoring touch.

Hull began November in the bottom three of the Barclays Premier League and with manager Phil Brown reportedly one bad result away from the sack.

The situation has turned dramatically with victory over Stoke followed by a draw against West Ham and Wednesday night’s remarkable 3-2 defeat of Everton.

Those three games have yielded eight goals and put Hull in good heart for a difficult run which begins with a trip to Manchester City tomorrow.

Hunt, who scored the opener against Everton, said: “We have got some tough games but we go into them with a bit of confidence.

“It’s been fairly entertaining for the last couple of games and hopefully we can take that to Eastlands.’’