Burnley boss Vincent Kompany admits new Wolves man Nathan Collins is 'irreplaceable'

But the Clarets boss saw enough to admit the 21-year-old is ‘irreplaceable’.

After the departure of captain Ben Mee and James Tarkowski at the end of their contracts, Kompany brought in three centre backs in Luke McNally from Oxford United, Taylor Harwood-Bellis on loan from Manchester City, and CJ Egan-Riley, again from City – a player who is also comfortable at right back.

However, after the loss of Collins, the Belgian would like another centre back before the transfer window closes, even with Bobby Thomas and Kevin Long at his disposal.

He accepts though, that he will struggle to fill the gap left by Collins, who became his nation’s most expensive signing, beating Robbie Keane.

Many feel Collins is destined to be an elite player, who will go for a vast sum again in the future, and Kompany accepts he will have to develop a player over time to get anywhere close to his standard: “Guys like Nathan you cannot replace, that is impossible.“Whatever they paid for him, he looked exactly that in training.“It is for us to find the next Nathan Collins, but it is not just going to be someone who just walks through the door and performs at the level he is at.

"It is going to be a project and to find the right balance between experienced players and young players, and we are emphasising it is a balance.”