Joey Barton has been looking for a club since leaving QPR at the end of his contract

Joey Barton will hold talks with Burnley in the next 24 hours.

The 32-year-old midfielder has been looking for a club since his release from QPR at the end of last season.

He saw a move to West Ham break down earlier this month and was linked with Rotherham United after reports suggested he and Millers boss Steve Evans had been in dialogue.

Evans scotched talk of that move, saying "he's a fantastic footballer - but I don't think we can afford Joey's petrol, never mind Joey."

Nottingham Forest was another possible destination for Barton but Reds boss Dougie Freedman told him the club could not afford his wage demands.

However, the Liverpool-born former Manchester City and Newcastle man could still be poised for a return north with Burnley, who have five points from their opening four Championship games of the season and in need of a central midfielder after missing out on Nottingham Forest's Henri Lansbury.

"It's a possibility, that's what I'd say," manager Sean Dyche told a press conference on Thursday. "There's a lot of other suitors, it's not as simple as that.

"Joey's someone I've spoken to for eight weeks. He's someone who I know a little bit about. He knows about us, he's always been very respectful of what we've tried to do here and what we've done here.

"The thing about Joey is what people sometimes forget because of other stuff is he's a very good player and he has a lot of people who probably hold him in high regard as a very good player.

"We're not flippant enough with any situation to think that everyone just wants to come to Burnley because we ask them to. This is something that's been going on for a while.

"No other reason than his thinking, our thinking, a bit of both. All parties have to be happy in the situation, that's for sure."