Football League World
·13 July 2024
4 Burnley FC players likely to leave by 11pm on Friday 30th August
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Football League World
·13 July 2024
A clear out of the Clarets' most saleable assets could be on the way following their recent relegation
Burnleyspent freely last summer in an attempt to re-establish themselves as a Premier League club.
After collecting just 24 points, facing relegation and sensationally losing former manager Vincent Kompany to Bayern Munich, it's difficult to paint the results in a positive light.
It leaves the Clarets needing to realign their budgets for the new challenge ahead - to get back out of the Championship - and player sales are likely to play an important role in that.
Here, Football League World looks at four players who could leave Turf Moor by the end of the transfer window...
In fairness to James Trafford, many an experienced goalkeeper would have struggled to give a strong account of themselves based on the number of chances being conceded by Kompany's side, having faced the second-most shots on target, 244, behind only fellow relegation-sufferers Sheffield United, so giving the gig to a rising star was always a risk.
The 21-year-old arrived at Turf Moor last summer from Manchester City's academy in a deal worth up to £19million.
He was recruited largely due to his ability to contribute to play in possession, a heavy focus of the coaching in that position under Blues manager Pep Guardiola, but, battling relegation, Burnley would likely have benefitted more from a more traditional gloveman due to the pressure on their goal.
Newcastle United appear to appreciate the deep-end situation Trafford was thrown into last term and therefore have not been put off expressing an interest in the stopper.
The Magpies are believed to see Trafford as a future no.1, potentially hinting at taking him out of the spotlight for a period of time, and journalist Alan Nixon reported the club are ready to move towards the player's £30million valuation.
As an experiment with a young player, it was a relatively unsuccessful move for Burnley. The chance to step out and still record a profit just a year later appears a no-brainer for the Lancashire club.
For those not following events closely at Turf Moor, it might be hard to believe that Wout Weghorst is still on the books at Burnley, having not turned out for the side since May 2022.
He has spent the intervening months on loan at Besiktas, Manchester United and Hoffenheim but will still report back to Burnley's training ground this summer due to his contract running until next summer.
Back-to-back loans at 31 years old are a strong hint that Weghorst's time at Burnley is all but done, and this transfer window represents one of the last chances to recoup any sort of fee for the towering forward before he departs on a free next year.
According to Tuttosport, via Roma24, both Ajax and Roma are thought to be in the picture, with a €10million placed on the striker. Although Burnley are believed to have paid £12million for him in 2022, anything near that valuation would be strong business from the Clarets to offload a player they clearly see as surplus to requirements at this stage.
Sander Berge was another player who arrived at Turf Moor last summer, making up around £12million of the Clarets' £90million spending spree.
The Norway international became a vital part of Burnley's midfield unit, appearing in all but one of their Premier League fixtures last term, with the one absence due to receiving two yellow cards the previous game.
Berge is widely regarded in the top flight and was considered Sheffield United's best player prior to his switch last summer. He has already dropped out of the Premier League to play in the Championship with the Blades once; whether he'll want to do the same again with Burnley remains to be seen.
The 26-year-old is a player that the Clarets would likely want to keep hold of in an ideal world, but Transfermarkt currently estimates that he is the club's most valuable playing asset at £20million. If a club is willing to meet somewhere close to that valuation, it would clearly ease financial pressure at Turf Moor and may prove difficult to refuse.
Josh Brownhill finds himself in a similar situation to Berge in that he is a highly saleable asset that Burnley may prefer to hold on to, but letting him go may help the overall health of the club and allow them to readjust financially for a Championship promotion push.
With the release of Jack Cork this summer, Brownhill is now estimated by Capology to be the club's highest earner, commanding a wage in the region of £45,000 a week.
He has faced Premier League interest in the past from the likes of Everton and proved himself as a solid top-tier player, appearing 33 times and captaining the side regularly.
He would be a big loss to Burnley, and is a symptom of where they find themselves following a tough Premier League season, but the midfield is one of their strongest areas and if cuts need to be made and funds accrued, it seems likely this will be the area to bear the most fruit.