When you consider that Nathan Collins’ debut campaign at Turf Moor ended in relegation, casual followers of Premier League football may be forgiven for suggesting that the Ireland international made a mistake when he chose Burnley over the likes of Arsenal and Crystal Palace 13 months ago (The Athletic).
But there was more than a hint of method to Collins’ perceived madness.
The then-Stoke City stalwart would have known that, in Burnley, he was joining a club with a proven track record when it comes to finding and developing promising young centre-halves.
Michael Keane moved on for £30 million following three impressive years at Turf Moor. James Tarkowski became an England international while wearing claret and blue. And Ben Mee, a decade after joining as a fresh-faced 22-year-old from Manchester City, made over 200 Premier League appearances under Sean Dyche before is contract expired this summer.
And Collins, set for a big-money £20 million move after just one year and 18 starts in Burnley colours, looks set to follow in the footsteps of Keane, Tarkowski and co. According to The Athletic, the highly-rated 21-year-old will undergo a medical at Molineux before becoming Wolves’ first summer signing.
Wolverhampton Wanderers set to sign Nathan Collins from Burnley
Would Collins have gone from strength-to-strength quite this quickly at Arsenal? He would not have had a relegation battle to contend with in North London, of course. But a move to The Gunners would have brought it’s own challenges. Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White, after all, is not a partnership easily broken up.
Now, Juventus are pushing hard for Gabriel. Pablo Mari is on his way. And Rob Holding’s development continues to plateau. Arsenal may soon be looking back on the summer of 2021 with a pang of regret deep within their stomachs,, wishing they had done more to lure Collins to the Emirates Stadium when they had the chance.
“Nathan has been really exceptional,” Republic of Ireland coach Stephen Kelly said recently after Collins channelled his inner-Lucio with a stunning individual goal against Ukraine, showcasing the sort of confident, ball-playing ability that would have seen him slot in nicely under Mikel Arteta.
“His decision making is remarkable for someone so young. I had him with the Under-21s. And the one thing we know about him is that he loves dribbling with the ball – and at pace.”
With Wolves on the verge of a £20 million deal, Collins’ career appears to be progressing equally quickly.
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