LIVERPOOL could yet hold the key to the future of Burnley defender Kieran Trippier – as Brendan Rodgers assesses whether to make another offer for Southampton’s Nathaniel Clyne.

The Clarets fear that they are likely to lose Trippier this summer after a £3.5m release clause was included in the contract that the 24-year-old signed a year ago.

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The full back is attracting interest from a host of clubs and Liverpool are now the latest side reported to be considering a move for Trippier, after seeing a £10m bid rejected for Clyne.

Glen Johnson is leaving Anfield at the end of his contract this summer and Rodgers is looking to add a right back to his squad as he attempts to get the Reds back into the Champions League next season.

He made Clyne his number one target and, should he decide to continue his interest in the Southampton man, that could also have a knock-on effect on Trippier’s future. Southampton are among the clubs monitoring Trippier and would seem likely to make a move for the Burnley man if Clyne departs.

It has been reported in some quarters that Liverpool are waiting until Clyne finishes his England commitments for the summer next weekend before upping their offer to £15m.

Trippier would ideally be keen for regular first-team football in the Premier League next season and a move to Southampton would seem a good fit for a defender whose friend and former Burnley team-mate Jay Rodriguez already plays for the Saints.

Tottenham are also understood to be interested in Trippier, although he would face a battle with England international Kyle Walker for a starting berth at White Hart Lane. Arsenal, Aston Villa and Stoke City have also been linked.

Should he get the chance to join Liverpool, Trippier would almost certainly link up again with Danny Ings, who is expected to finalise a deal to join the Reds in the near future. Talks are said to be progressing well over the out-of-contract Clarets striker’s personal terms.

Burnley would receive compensation for Ings because he is only 22, with a fee set by tribunal if nothing can be agreed between the two clubs.

But Trippier is two years older and under the terms of the Bosman ruling he would have been able to walk away for nothing this summer, had he not signed an extended deal at Turf Moor a year ago.

That put the Clarets in a difficult negotiating position at the time, and they had little choice but to agree to the request that a £3.5m release clause be installed in the defender’s three-year contract – even though Trippier’s market value would now seem to be higher than that figure.

Reports yesterday suggested that Sunderland were only hours from making a move for Burnley boss Sean Dyche last week before Dick Advocaat made a surprise U-turn and agreed to stay as Black Cats boss.

Sunderland had put Dyche on their shortlist for the job after Advocaat had declared his intention to leave, but had made no approach to the Clarets as they assessed their options.