Burnley manager Sean Dyche has suggested that Premier League players be 'fast-tracked' as Covid-19 vaccinations are rolled out across the United Kingdom - as reported by The Guardian.

The Premier League has been forced to postpone four fixtures already this season due to coronavirus outbreaks, while testing has been ramped up in the top flight to two tests per week. 

However, the Turf Moor gaffer has posed an argument that from a financial perspective, football would be better off vaccinating players early rather than continuously plunging money into regular testing - which only provides short-term clarity on whether individuals are infected. 

Speaking ahead of Burnley's FA Cup clash with MK Dons, Dyche said to reporters; "The amount of money being spent on testing in the Premier League, if that money was channelled back into the NHS and the vaccinations system, surely that’s a better place to be than it is just continuing testing a load of footballers two, three, four times a week.

"I appreciate there’ll be some people who say, ‘why should footballers get vaccinated?’, but... if there’s 20 Premier League clubs and 100 vaccinations at a club, let’s say, I would imagine the payback to the system, the NHS and the vaccination system, financially, would be considerable.

"I’m told if you are vaccinated, you don’t need to keep testing. So therefore if the testing diminishes, that money could be used for a much better cause in my opinion."

Dyche also expressed his belief that football collectively is proving to be a positive influence as the country continues to battle the global pandemic, citing the wealth it creates through tax, the fact a significant portion of the population wanted Project Restart to go ahead last summer and even the off-field influence of Marcus Rashford, who has been driving a campaign to end child hunger in the UK.

And the Clarets boss further argued that football needs to remain a "competitive industry", rather than having results "skewed" by what is fast-becoming a lottery of potential absences before any given game.

However, Dyche was also quick to insist he does not believe footballers should take priority over frontline workers, the elderly and the vulnerable who need the vaccine most. 

"I must reiterate, I’m not remotely trying to step in front of the key workers, the essential people who need vaccinations. I’m just suggesting if there is a window to fast-track through football, to get it back to being fully competitive, on an even playing field..."

"I just think we’re going into that dangerous moment of how many games need to be called off before it’s time to lock down again, and I’m just trying to think of a possible thought process to find a way through."

GIVEMESPORT's Christy Malyan says... 

It might not be the most fashionable argument to suggest young, healthy and ludicrously rich men aged between 18-35 should receive the vaccine ahead of regular members of the general public, but Dyche has certainly identified a clear logic in doing so. 

Testing players and staff at all 20 Premier League clubs twice a week must cost a fortune, so if there's still a widespread consensus that football should continue, it makes sense for those involved to receive the vaccine to cut down costs in the long run. 

The only problem is selling that argument to the everyday person in the UK, which is a lot harder to do when there are so many examples of footballers breaching lockdown rules.

Over the Christmas period, we've seen Benjamin Mendy, Giovanni Lo Celso, Erik Lamela, Manuel Lanzini, Sergio Reguilon, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Luka Milivojevic all caught in the act of socialising outside their households. 

No matter how much sense Dyche is making, football is unlikely to be seen as a special case worthy of having the vaccine fast-tracked while there remains a perception that those involved in the sport don't believe they need to follow the same rules as normal UK citizens.