Amid all the drama surrounding Jackson Muleka’s will-he-won’t-he switch to Turf Moor, the unveiling of Samuel Bastien has at Burnley has gone somewhat under the radar.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Clarets completed one half of a proposed double-deal, agreeing a bargain £700,000 fee with Standard Liege.
“Samuel is a great addition to our team,” new head coach Vincent Kompany – who knows Bastien from his time in Belgium with Anderlecht – told Burnley’s official website.
“He is a high energy midfielder who can link up play, works very hard and recovers the ball well. We are delighted to add Samuel to the group and look forward to welcoming him to our squad.”
A hard-working, high energy central midfielder not afraid to stick the boot in? Bastien certainly has the makings of a fans’ favourite on the Turf Moor terraces. The Burnley fanbase, after all, is one that appreciates players willing to sacrifice blood, sweat and the occasional tear to the Clarets cause.
West Ham’s loss is Burnley’s gain regarding Samuel Bastien
If things had worked out differently, Bastien might have been wearing claret-and-blue already. According to Belgian publication Het Belang van Limburg, West Ham United submitted an £11 million bid for the former Chievo Verona enforcer on the final day of the 2020 summer transfer window.
Standard Liege rejected the offer. They obviously felt that Bastien – who also admitted to turning down Aston Villa and Everton – was too important to lose. Or perhaps they felt his price-tag would rise even further at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne.
So why has that very same player joined Burnley for just £700,000 less than two years later? Well, that vastly reduced transfer fee is largely down to the fact that Bastien had just 12 months left on his Standard Liege contract.
What’s more, the presence of a bonafide Belgian legend in Kompany in the Turf Moor dugout gives Burnley access to players – albeit Jupiler League-based players – that might otherwise have had reservations about joining a team in England’s second tier.
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