BURNLEY must always look to be at the forefront in terms of attracting the best young footballers to Turf Moor – not just at home but abroad.

That’s why it was exciting for us to clinch a partnership agreement with American side Cary Under-23s and the Next Level Academy in North Carolina.

I’ve just returned from the USA after meeting up with the people behind the new ‘Cary Clarets’ and, on both sides, we’re confident it will prove a successful link-up.

From their perspective, they are very interested in Burnley because we are a well-established club.

They realise the value of linking up with a Championship club, where young players have a good chance of progressing into the first-team.

This is something that people around the world are cottoning on to.

One of the worst places to send young players is the Premier League. As youngsters are looking to make a breakthrough, top-flight managers are instead splashing out £20 million on players, whereas teenagers have a better opportunity at places like Turf Moor.

Football in the USA is becoming stronger and stronger all the while, plus they have a strong mentality to sport over there.

One of their targets is to win the World Cup within the next 10 years.

They’ve got a much better chance of achieving that now than during my time, when players such as Colin Waldron went over to the States at the tail-end of his career.

In terms of resources, coaching, and sheer numbers of youngsters playing the sport, they’re almost at opposite ends of the scale.

Unlike here in Britain, they have summer camps in America where clubs run coaching courses with almost 10,000 kids on their books.

Of those 10,000 kids, it may be a baby-sitting service for around 10 per cent of them, but there are some talented ones coming through the system.

Burnley’s head of development Martin Dobson – who is doing a magnificent job at the club – has said to me that the set-ups in America are excellent.

But one of the problems in the United States is that once a good young footballer reaches 18 years of age, they can lose their way in the sport because they head to college looking for a scholarship.

There is a real stigma attached to going to college over there – but we’re looking at providing an outlet for the best talent so youngsters can fulfil their ability.