BURNLEY are understood to be preparing an offer in excess of £1.25m for Bradford City striker Nahki Wells.

The Clarets have still not given up hope of signing Ashley Barnes from Brighton.

After having a new year £750,000 bid rejected by their Championship rivals, along with League One Wolves, they are expected to return with an improved figure in the January transfer window.

But with Brighton reluctant to sell the 24-year-old front man Burnley will look to other options if they continue to meet resistance, and Wells is believed to be high on their list of targets as manager Sean Dyche seeks attacking reinforcements to supplement star strikers Sam Vokes and Danny Ings.

Bradford last week turned down the first offer of the January window for Wells, believed to be a £1.25million bid by Huddersfield Town, having already turned down a lower offer from Peterborough in the summer.

Any Burnley bid would have to at least match the Terriers’ offer and is likely to include add-ons in a bid to tempt Bradford into selling.

Burnley have yet to make a formal approach for the Bermudian, who stayed with the Bantams despite summer transfer speculation after helping to fire them into League One, but have asked to be kept in the loop on any developments.

Bradford are braced for having to sell Wells this month to avoid profit sums shrinking for the striker in the summer, when he will enter the last year of his current contract.

City have been unsuccessful in their attempts to secure the 23-year-old on a new deal despite being prepared to make Wells the highest paid player.

Wells has scored 14 League One goals for Bradford so far this season.