Burnley have agreed a fee for Stoke City defender Nathan Collins, reports John Percy of The Telegraph and Andy Jones of The Athletic. The fee for the defender is believed to be £12 million. The Clarets appear to have jumped to the head of the queue for Collins with a host of other clubs monitoring his situation. Should Collins move to Turf Moor, it will be Sean Dyche’s first signing of the summer.
Fee Agreed for Stoke City’s Nathan Collins
Rising Star Close to Joining Burnley
Collins, a Republic of Ireland U21 international, became Stoke’s youngest ever captain when he was given the armband against Leeds United in the 2019/20 season, and is seen as a hot prospect for the future. Able to play as a central defender or right-back, he has so far featured in 47 games for City in all competitions, scoring twice. Burnley boss Sean Dyche, backed by new owners ALK Capital, would see this as an excellent start to the summer transfer window.
Dyche Finally Gets His Man
With a fee finally being agreed between the two clubs, it appears that Sean Dyche has got his man at last. Burnley were keen to add Collins to their squad in the January transfer window but their £4.5 million bid was rejected. Stoke were naturally eager to keep their young star but with Burnley upping their bid to an acceptable amount, Collins could now be on the move.
Burnley have acted fast to get their man, with some of the Premier League’s top teams also looking at the defender. It has been reported that Manchester United, Arsenal and Leicester City were also interested.
Signing New Players Not Easy According to Dyche
Dyche is eager to strengthen his squad. However, he has admitted that it is not as easy as some think. Speaking earlier this summer about what can be expected, Dyche said: “We’ll wait and see, the truth is what players are available, not just the money.
“You need money, of course, to make players available, but it’s not just about money, you need players available, the right players at the right time. It’s not an easy market, if it was, everybody would be signing the right players and they’d all be successful. It’s not always easy, recruitment is one of the toughest things in football.”
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