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It is clear from the other side of the Pennines that Batty, who also played for Blackburn and Newcastle, is to put it mildly out of favour. Barrow boy Venables has told him that he is not part of the plans and this has left Batty without a first team game since Leeds won at Derby in April.
Venables has suggested that Batty is no longer up to the rigours of Premiership football but this takes some believing given that Batty played in 36 of 38 Premiership games last season as Leeds qualified for a UEFA Cup place.
The player though is thought to be resisting any efforts by Venables to get him off the wage bill and has said he will not leave the club and will sit it out for the remainder of his contract. And that runs until the end of the 2003/04 season.
It has been said that he has already turned down loan moves, one of them could well have been the Clarets, but who knows things can change.
Given the club's financial position a move for Batty does appear to be unlikely but after the signings of the last two or three years at Turf Moor nothing would surprise me.
Mind you we all know what happened last time we greeted the arrival of a player who had missed a penalty in a vital shoot out for England.