BURNLEY could be set for a financial windfall if Danny Ings makes his England debut in Lithuania tonight.

The striker left the Clarets to sign for Liverpool in the summer when his contract expired, but as he is under 24 Burnley are due compensation for his services.

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The two clubs have been unable to reach an agreement on a transfer fee, so a tribunal is set to make the final decision on how much the Merseysiders should pay for Ings, who scored 43 goals in 130 games for Burnley.

And according to a sports lawyer with experience of tribunals and compensation arrangements, an England debut for Ings in Vilnius tonight in the Three Lions final Euro 2016 qualifier could influence the total fee heading to Turf Moor.

Matthew Chantler, from the Manchester office of Mills and Reeve, said: “An international appearance usually triggers a payment. If Danny Ings makes his debut tonight then that might be taken into account, or it might mean the trigger payment is made after a second or third appearance.

“His value for Liverpool will increase if he plays for England and if he plays well, so that might be reflected in the fee payable to Burnley.

“Burnley could certainly argue that the training and playing experience he had with them has enabled him to reach international level.”

A date for a tribunal hearing, referred to as the Professional Football Compensation Committee, is yet to be set, although a wait of several months for a final decision is not unusual.

The committee will comprise of five representatives, one from the Premier League and the Championship, an appointee of the Professional Footballers’ Association and the League Managers’ Association, and an independent chairman of ‘appropriate legal background’.

Chantler, who advised QPR when they were looking to come to a compensation arrangement with Blackburn Rovers for the transfer of Junior Hoilett in July 2012, added: “There are two parts to the criteria really. One is the tribunal will look at the selling club’s cost of running their academy, the cost of the training facilities and issues like that in relation to the player.

“They also look at the status of the two clubs, if a big club is signing a player then the tribunal might look at it as cherry picking players, so it will be beneficial for Burnley that he has gone to Liverpool.

“The age of the players comes into consideration, how many years he has left playing at that level, so that will work in their favour as well, and how long he was at Burnley and the fee they paid for him.

“The contract offers are also part of the tribunal. So Burnley probably offered to make him their highest paid player, which shows how they rated him, and if he is one of Liverpool’s highest paid players then it shows they regard him highly.

“Any interest from other clubs can be used by the selling club, so if they had a higher offer and they have proof of that then it works in their favour.”

Burnley are thought to be hoping for around £10million from a tribunal, a fee that Tottenham are reported to have offered for Ings before he left Turf Moor, although the player had his heart set on a move to Anfield.

They will certainly be expecting to recoup a record fee for a tribunal, eclipsing the £6.5million set when Daniel Sturridge moved from Manchester City to Chelsea as a 20-year-old in 2009.

That involved an initial fee of £3.5million, with a further £3million in add-ons based on international appearances and making 10, 20, 30 and 40 first-team appearances for Chelsea.

“The panel will have football people on it and they will have the relevant precedents,” added Chantler. “I think the most obvious one in this case is Daniel Sturridge, which was about £6.5million in the end.

“If the rumours of offers from £6million to £10million are correct then you would expect the panel to go for something between that, probably higher than the fee for Sturridge.

“The payment is usually an initial transfer fee up front followed by some additional payments after a certain number of appearances, then maybe payments based on the success of the club, for example winning the league.”