Burnley are ready to offer Bart Verbruggen a long-term contract at Turf Moor but will need to be a lot more than the £3 million they spent on former Anderlecht team-mate Josh Cullen, as reported by Het Laaste Nieuws.
It’s fair to say Jupiler League imports have a somewhat mixed track record when it comes to adapting to life on English soil. So Vincent Kompany will be praying the likes of Verbrugge and Samuel Bastien are more Kevin de Bruyne than Wesley Moraes.
After Cullen joined fellow midfielder Bastien at Turf Moor, reports from Belgium say that Burnley have now turned their attention to another player who impressed under Kompany at Anderlecht’s Lotto Park.
The new Burnley boss handed 19-year-old Verbruggen his debut back in 2021. And, according to HLN, Kompany is now pushing hard for a Lancastrian reunion.
The Clarets will reportedly offer Verbruggen a four or five-year contract at Turf Moor. And it is believed they are also happy to stump up a damn sight more than the £3 million Anderlecht raked in for Republic of Ireland international Cullen, however, remains to be seen.
Burnley want Bart Verbruggen after Cullen swoop
Het Nieuwsblad say that Verbruggen would relish the prospect of testing himself in the always-unforgiving English Championship. Burnley have been working on the deal for a number of weeks, and now have their foot slammed down onto the accelerator. A potential £6 million bid is in the offing.
That would make Verbruggen by far and away their most expensive signing of the Kompany era thus far. And, for that matter, a real show of faith in a teenager with a handful of first-team appearances under his belt.
“We have been preparing him for months on end behind the scenes,” Kompany said after Verbruggen made his first-team bow aged just 18.
“It’s hard to launch a young goalkeeper, but now was the time to bring him in. He is playing now and has our confidence. If he had been the worst player on the pitch today, that opinion wouldn’t change. And if he had been the best, we would have kept him down to earth.”
Following the departures of Wayne Hennessey and Nick Pope, Burnley have just two senior goalkeepers ahead of this month’s Championship opener; Will Norris and Bailey Peacock-Harris.
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