BARROW AFC have held talks with Burnley over extending Jimmy Dunne's stay at Holker Street.

The 20-year-old Irish defender has been a revelation since his arrival in the summer, but his loan deal from the Premier League side runs out in January.

Dunne has started every game he has been available for since under managers Paul Cox, Micky Moore and Ady Pennock.

Only two suspensions picked up for red cards have disrupted his campaign, sitting out three matches for a dismissal at Solihull Moors and then four following his late sending off in the FA Cup defeat at Shaw Lane. The latter ban meant he did not play for caretaker boss Neill Hornby.

He picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the 1-0 defeat to Dagenham on Saturday, but will not serve a one-match ban, as the deadline for that to have an effect was at the end of November. He will thus be available for the FA Trophy trip to Nuneaton Town on Saturday.

And Pennock has nothing but praise for Dunne, having seen him pick up man-of-the-match awards in his past two games at Halifax and at home to the Daggers.

“He was fantastic, very good,” Pennock said of his Dagenham display. “Again, it was a good learning curve for him, and I thought he played very well.”

He added: “We've already spoken to Burnley. They've got to see what career he is going to have at Burnley. They are having a management meeting in the new year, and we will go from there.”

Pennock believes Dunne, who has made 18 appearances for Barrow this season, scoring his only goal in the 2-0 win at Eastleigh last month, has great potential to do well both for Barrow and at a higher level.

He praised his style of play – which may have led to those two red cards, but which has also seen him more than match high-calibre players such as Dagenham's Morgan Ferrier and Michael Cheek.

“I want him to do unbelievably well,” said the AFC boss. “I want him to do very well for us and push on up.

“He has been great. He's an old-fashioned centre-half and he will make a fortune in the game if he carries on the way he is, because it's all tippy-tappy Charlies around centre-halves at the moment.”