Burnley sign Swiss striker Amdouni from Basel

uly 19 (Reuters) – Burnley have signed Swiss striker Zeki Amdouni from FC Basel on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.

Amdouni, 22, was the top scorer in the Europa Conference League with seven goals last season. He netted 12 times in the Swiss Super League and has scored five goals in five appearances for the national team in Euro qualifiers.

“He’s been on our radar for quite a while now. Zeki is such a goal threat,” Burnley boss Vincent Kompany said in a statement.

“The way he can play the final pass creates so many assists and thanks to the amount of work he puts in on the pitch – he scores plenty himself.

“He’s a very intelligent footballer, technically gifted and with a great work ethic. He works really hard. We’re looking forward to working with him, he’s a big talent.”

Amdouni is the Burnley’s fifth signing ahead of their return to the top-flight.

Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge

BURNLEY IN HUNT FOR ‘QUALITY’ ENGLAND UNDER-21 STAR

Burnley are interested in bringing Cole Palmer to Turf Moor this summer.

According to football journalist Alan Nixon, writing on his Patreon page, Manchester City youngster Cole Palmer is attracting attention from Burnley and Leicester City.

Whilst new Leicester boss Enzo Maresca is trying to rebuild a side that can fire the Foxes straight back into the Premier League, newly-promoted Burnley are focusing on survival. That being said, Vincent Kompany has implemented a free-flowing, attacking style of football with the Clarets that he won’t abandon in favour of gritty, defensive showings in the top flight.

Burnley have already strengthened this summer, with Dara O’Shea arriving from West Brom to add solidity in defence, and Irish forward Michael Obafemi having had his loan switch from Swansea City made permanent. Palmer would be another smart addition as the Belgian coach seeks to get his side ready for the challenges of the new campaign.

Why Burnley should sign Cole Palmer

Palmer has already been suggested as a potential target for Burnley, and now that looks to have become a reality. There are many reasons such a move would make sense for Burnley. First of all, there is the 21-year-old’s abundant talent. The attacking midfielder made a positive impression for Manchester City last season during his limited opportunities and has been dubbed a player with “special quality” by Pep Guardiola, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.

Kompany’s connections with Manchester City, where he remains a legend from his playing days, could benefit Burnley when it comes to beating Leicester to Palmer’s signature. The Clarets need to take advantage of that now to get a deal done for the England under-21 international.

Burnley transfer stance should force Coventry City to look elsewhere…

Burnley are not keen on letting Luke McNally leave Turf Moor permanently and would prefer to see him go out on loan during this window, according to Coventry Live

The former Oxford United centre-back is unlikely to win too much game time at Turf Moor next season, with Dara O’Shea coming in to replace Taylor Harwood-Bellis, and Jordan Beyer signing for the club permanently.

Ameen Al-Dakhil, Hjalmar Ekdal and Charlie Taylor are other options available to Vincent Kompany if the latter isn’t required at left-back, so it would be difficult to see McNally winning many pitch minutes at all, even in cup competitions.

Instead, he could potentially secure a loan switch to an EFL club, which would give him the opportunity to compete in 46 league games and show exactly why he should be a key part of the Clarets’ long-term plans.

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Who is interested in Luke McNally?

Alan Nixon believes both Coventry and Millwall are keen on taking him, although the latter may struggle to secure a permanent deal.

The Clarets’ current stance means they won’t have to tie him down permanently, but Coventry could potentially tempt Kompany’s side with a cash offer if it’s big enough.

Viktor Gyokeres is on the verge of joining Sporting Lisbon, which should free up some funds for Mark Robins to spend. With a chunk of the increased budget the Sky Blues’ boss is likely to have, he may decide to try and lure McNally back to the Coventry Building Society Arena for the long term.

Gary Rowett will be just as desperate to sign the 23-year-old though, having seen Charlie Cresswell return to Leeds United following the end of last season.

It would be difficult to see Cresswell returning to The Den considering the Lions and the Whites could be potential promotion rivals next term.

Why do Coventry City need to look at alternative targets to Luke McNally?

The fact Burnley would prefer a loan move for the central defender suggests that it will take a lot of money for him to be lured away from Turf Moor for the long term.

Not only is he still young – but he has three years left on his contract and that will give Kompany’s side the license to demand a sizeable amount for him.

Coventry can probably afford to splash out on him considering Gyokeres’ big-money departure, but they need to bring in quite a few central defenders and should be focusing on building their defence for the long term with the increased budget they will have.

With this, utilising the loan market should probably be something they think about later on in the window.

And if the Clarets aren’t willing to budge on their stance, the Sky Blues should be looking at alternatives because they are in desperate need of addressing their central defence.

Not only have the likes of McNally, Jonathan Panzo and Callum Doyle left, but Michael Rose has been released and it’s unclear how long veteran Kyle McFadzean will be able to play on for.

If they can bring in two or three permanent signings, that could allow them to have stability in this department for the long term and it may even boost their hopes of getting to the Premier League after missing out narrowly at the end of last term.