BESART Berisha's agent admits he is "confident" that the Albanian international will officially become a Burnley player on Thursday.

The Clarets' legal team are putting the finishing touches to their bid to secure a work permit for the 21-year-old. And his agent, Henner Janzen, has armed the experts hired by the club to face the Home Office panel in Sheffield on Thursday morning with numerous documents to demonstrate that the Hamburg wide man has much to offer the English game.

Janzen hopes that invitations from the German Football Association enquiring about Kosovo-born Berisha's availability to play for their national teams at Under 19, 20 and 21 level, letters of recommendation from his previous clubs and dvds of his first international games, as well as the footage from the televised match between England B and Albania at Turf Moor last month, in which Berisha scored his first international goal, will all work towards a positive outcome at the hearing.

"As far as I understand this panel exists to prove that a player who comes from a non EU country is of a better quality than a British player of the same age. We really hope to convince the judges," said Berisha's German representative.

"I was talking to the solicitor who is in charge of the case today and I'm hoping everything will go in the right direction on Thursday.

"I won't be at the hearing. I can't really help because, from my point of view, it's a very British matter and it's better that they deal with it.

"I'm a solicitor in Germany and know the German laws and know how to answer it here. It's something else in Great Britain and I have full trust in the solicitor.

"We are very confident. We wouldn't have taken this step (to agree a deal) if we hadn't got this confidence.

"I'm convinced they will do their best."

Manager Steve Cotterill is also hopeful that the three-year deal he has agreed with the wide man can go through without a hitch.

The Clarets have been stung at such hearings in the past, with Artim Sakiri and Luton Shelton both denied a route to Turf Moor. Macedonia international Sakiri looked set to join Burnley after leaving West Brom in the summer of 2005 but the former CSKA Sofia midfielder's work permit was not renewed.

Jamaican ace Shelton also missed out as his proposed move from Harbour View was blocked after a successful pre-season at Turf Moor. That rejection became an even bitter pill to swallow for Burnley this season as, after joining Swedish club Helsingborg instead, he made a £1.85million switch to Sheffield United in this year's January transfer window.

But Cotterill, who met with the solicitors representing Burnley before he agreed terms with Berisha in Berlin, hopes it will be third time lucky for the Clarets.

"I met with some solicitors, guys who are very up-to-date with procedures for work permits, and they think we have a very good case," he said. "We are better and more professionally prepared with these situations than we have been, but having said that we did prepare before."

If the work permit is approved then Berisha will make the £340,000 switch from Hamburg and team up with the rest of the squad when they return for pre-season training on July 4.

With the Bundesliga programme not finishing until May 19 and Berisha involved for Albania in their friendly against England B at Turf Moor on May 25, the 21-year-old has had a shorter break than the rest of the Burnley players.

Nevertheless, he told Cotterill that he was keen to stay on top of his fitness during his time off.

"He said he was going home to his village in Pristina but he was going home to train," said the Burnley boss.

"I said I thought with finishing later that he would have a rest for a while, but he is keen."

l BURNLEY'S Championship game at home to Southampton is among the first batch of games selected for live screening by Sky Television.

The Turf Moor clash, originally scheduled for 3pm on October 27, will now kick-off at 5.20pm.

Burnley feature just once in the first batch of 24 games announced by Sky Television and the Football League yesterday.

l FORMER Clarets goalkeeper Danny Coyne could be heading back to former club Tranmere Rovers, where he started as a trainee The Prenton Park outfit are in the market for a new stopper after Gavin Ward left the club and John Achterberg moved onto the coaching staff.

Achterberg is still registered as a player but is recovering from a cruciate ligament injury.

Tranmere have also been linked with a move for Michael Oakes, who is now out of contract with another Championship side, Wolverhampton Wanderers.