Burnley handed Craig Bellamy blow as Wales decision revealed | OneFootball

Wales National Team boss Craig Bellamy is intending to see his side into Euro 2028, which will be a blow to Burnley's managerial search

Burnley's managerial search ahead of their upcoming Championship return began on Thursday, after Scott Parker departed the Clarets by mutual consent.

Despite overseeing promotion with 100 points and having the best defensive record in second-tier history last season, Parker was a divisive character at Turf Moor.

Those immense defensive numbers last season meant that their attack lacked a little impetus, and there wasn't much hope of Burnley battling against yet another immediate relegation back to the second tier this term.

In the end, the fact that their fellow promoted sides from last year are looking likely to remain in the top flight, and they're not, has soured things even further.

Even with his reputation as a title specialist in the Championship, both Burnley and Scott Parker saw a departure as the best outcome towards the tail end of the season.

Immediately, Wales boss Craig Bellamy was highlighted as a "serious candidate" for the vacant Clarets job, having left Turf Moor, where he was one of the coaches under Vincent Kompany, to join the national team back in June 2024.

Burnley encounter stumbling block in Craig Bellamy pursuit

It was always going to be difficult to try to tempt Bellamy away from the Welsh post.

First, it was reported that the Clarets would have to pay £700,000+ to take him away from his current role, but even then, after coming up agonisingly short of qualification for the World Cup, Bellamy would likely be keen to take Cymru to the home European Championships in 2028 and look to right those wrongs at a major competition.

Ultimately, the latter is proving to be true, as TalkSPORT's Alex Crook has reported, via X, that Bellamy intends to be the Welsh national team manager for Euro 2028.

Wales did not qualify for Euro 2024, meaning that the 2028 edition in the UK and Ireland will be their first major tournament since the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, six years prior.

With 78 Welsh caps as a player, and given how disappointed he was following Wales' elimination on penalties in the recent World Cup play-offs, it's clear that it would be a privilege for the 46-year-old to lead his country into the European Championships, and that will serve to disadvantage Burnley in their current managerial hunt.

Burnley may have to look elsewhere for Scott Parker's replacement

Fortunately, Burnley have plenty of time to look for a new manager before preparation begins for next season. There are still four games remaining in the Premier League season, so there's no rush for a hire to be made immediately.

Alongside Bellamy, Steven Gerrard was heavily linked with the vacancy, as was Cardiff City manager Brian Barry-Murphy, who has enjoyed a brilliant return to management this season in the Welsh capital.

Gerrard, meanwhile, hasn't been in a dugout since leaving Saudi side Al-Ettifaq in January 2025, and you have to go all the way back to October 2022 to the last time he managed a club in England.

With fellow English midfield legend Frank Lampard taking that drop down to the second tier to help revitalise his managerial career, perhaps Gerrard will be looking to do the same next season, and Burnley could be the side to do it with.