Burnley keen on re-signing “incredible” £20m star

The news everyone feared at Burnley, but ultimately expected, has now been officially confirmed, with CJ Egan-Riley taking up an opportunity at Ligue 1 giants Marseille after turning down a new Turf Moor deal.

This will be a sizeable hole to fill on the end of Scott Parker’s men, considering Egan-Riley is just fresh off a glittering Championship promotion season that saw him collect a mammoth 26 clean sheets.

But, the Clarets have been here before and bounced back well, with both Ben Mee and James Tarkowski exiting the club once upon a time garnering this same level of dismay.

Therefore, Burnley will be hopeful they can plug Egan-Riley’s gap very soon by landing an adequate replacement.

Burnley keen to re-sign £20m defender

As per a new report from football journalist Alan Nixon, Burnley are keen to bring Taylor Harwood-Bellis back to Lancashire after his current employers, Southampton, crashed out of the Premier League last season.

It’s stated that the 23-year-old is eager to stick it out in the top-flight over heading down to the Championship with the Saints, meaning a second spell at Burnley could soon be on the cards.

Nixon does reveal that West Ham United are also keeping tabs on the former Manchester City youth starlet, but a deal would only take place if a sale was made, owing to Harwood-Bellis’ reported price tag of £20m.

Therefore, the newly promoted outfit could soon race to the front of the queue to land Harwood-Bellis back on a permanent basis, with the 6-foot-2 defender a very suitable replacement for the now departed Egan-Riley.

Why Harwood-Bellis is even better than Egan-Riley

Whilst the 22-year-old is just fresh off an unbelievable campaign in the heart of the Clarets’ defence, the former Burnley number six has only collected one Premier League appearance across his career to date, meaning he might well struggle with the demands of a top-five league.

On the contrary, Harwood-Bellis is well versed with the challenges of the daunting Premier League now, with the Stockport-born colossus even winning himself a senior England call-up last season when battling away valiantly for basement side Southampton.

It’s clear from the table above that Harwood-Bellis is very similar in approach to Egan-Riley, with the defensive pairing both comfortable performers with the ball at their feet, as much as they are also adept at getting stuck in when necessary.

Whilst it is obviously impressive to pick up the numbers Egan-Riley managed at the top-end of the Championship, Parker will view his new target as an upgrade for what he can offer in the league above, with Harwood-Bellis actually averaging more accurate passes per match stuck in a relegation battle than his Marseille counterpart managed in a promotion race.

He was even labelled as “incredible” last season by former boss Pep Guardiola for the progress he had made away from the Etihad, with a Three Lions call-up further proof that he belongs in the big time.

On the flip side, away from his standout showings last season, Egan-Riley has only ever been exposed to a top division fully on loan with Hibernian, with just that one paltry Premier League appearance next to his name. Harwood-Bellis, despite only being one year older, boasts a hefty 34 and counting, away from his 113 outings in the taxing Championship.

Further hailed as a “warrior” by journalist Josh Bunting when shining bright previously at Turf Moor, the composed, yet dominant defender could well be an even better figure for Burnley to have at the back than Egan-Riley, especially as they transition back to the daunting reality of Premier League life.

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