Vincent Kompany is set to be reunited with Josh Cullen in the Championship after Burnley made a bid worth around £3 million for the Anderlecht midfielder, as reported by Het Nieuwsblad.
It’s that time of year when a player’s absence from your starting XI usually means one thing.
And with Cullen conspicuous by his absence during the Anderlecht’s pre-season preparations, supporters of one of Belgium’s most historic footballing institutions will not need two guesses to figure out what’s going to happen next.
As Het Nieuwsblad point out, Cullen is not injured. Nor is he unavailable following to international commitments.
Burnley’s initial £1.8 million offer fell short of Anderlecht’s expectations earlier this month. But after raising their bid – the Clarets will reportedly pay somewhere around the £3 million mark – Cullen looks all-but certain to become summer signing number five at Turf Moor.
Le Soir even go as far as to suggest that the former West Ham United youngster will be in Lancashire on Monday to undergo medical tests. Tireless and tenacious – he played 60 games last term for club and country – Cullen could form an all-new central midfield partnership with the similarly energetic Samuel Bastien under Kompany.
His arrival comes after the departure of Dale Stephens. Ashley Westwood, meanwhile, will remain on the sidelines for the forseable future.
Burnley on verge of Josh Cullen agreement with Anderlecht
“He is never named the man of the match but he is the most popular (player) in the squad,” Kompany once said of the 26-year-old Cullen.
“Those who admire him the most for his work-rate are his teammates. He has only one thing in mind – the team. If the team wins, it is because he did a lot of jobs that the others could not do.”
Cullen’s transfer comes as something of a surprise, however. Largely because, only a couple of weeks ago, Kompany insisted that he had no plans to raid his old employers.
“We are already close to some newcomers and hope to announce them in the coming days,” said the Manchester City legend. “There are some interesting profiles for us in Belgium, so it is possible that players from the Belgian league will come.
“But, at the moment, I don’t think about getting players from Anderlecht. I don’t want to harm my former club. That is far from my intention.”
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