Burnley's out-of-contract star CJ Egan-Riley closing in on shock move to French outfit - multiple sources
Multiple sources are reporting that Burnley’s out-of-contract defender CJ Egan-Riley has agreed to join French side Strasbourg.
The 22-year-old, who has been one of the standout stars of Burnley’s record-breaking season, is free to join another club for nothing this summer.
On Tuesday, a report emerged from TBR Sports that Strasbourg were closing in on a deal for the soon-to-be free agent.
Today, fresh reports have emerged from the likes of talkSPORT and L’Equipe suggesting that an announcement is close and Egan-Riley is about to pen a five-year deal with the Ligue 1 outfit.
The Burnley Express have contacted the club for comment.
Strasbourg are managed by former Hull City boss Liam Rosenior and are on the cusp of qualifying for European football, sitting sixth in the table with one game to go.
Owned by Todd Boehly’s BlueCo, they’re also a sister-club to Chelsea, who apparently recommend Egan-Riley.
Losing the centre-back would be a big blow for the Clarets, given he played such a key role in the club’s 100-point campaign in the Championship.
He partnered Maxime Esteve in the centre of defence for the majority of the season as Scott Parker’s men conceded just 16 times in 46 league games. The Clarets also kept a record-equalling 30 clean sheets.
It’s been some turnaround for the England Under-21 international, who was well down the pecking order at the start of the season having been well out of favour under Vincent Kompany, having been shipped out on loan to Hibernian and Jong PSV.
He’s since bounced back by making 43 appearances this term, scoring once.
Should Egan-Riley’s departure be confirmed, it will come as a major hammer-blow to Parker, who recently revealed he was “confident” he and fellow out-of-contract teammate Josh Brownhill would remain at Turf Moor beyond their current deals.
“I know that both the players we're talking about here have absolutely loved this year and they've been vital cogs of what we've done,” he said at the end of April.
“You obviously never know, but hopefully we can try and get to a point where we'll have a bit more clarity on that.”