Burnley are set to sell another star player this window with reports suggesting that Anass Zaroury is heading abroad.
The Moroccan international joined the Clarets from Sporting Charleroi in August 2022, arriving on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He has played 49 times in total for the Lancashire club, but has increasingly been on the peripheries.
He was loaned out in February by Vincent Kompany to Hull City, where he played 12 times and scored twice as The Tigers failed to get into the Championship Playoffs. He has only played once under new boss Scott Parker, making a cameo appearance in their opening game against Luton Town.
According to journalists Sacha Tavolieri and Santi Aouna, Zaroury will now head to RC Lens in France and is already completing his medical for Will Still’s side. Les Sang et Or are expected to pay a €9 million fee (£7.67 million) including bonuses to Burnley for their number 19 and will sign a contract that keeps him at the Ligue 1 club until 2028.
Many of Burnley’s bigger names have departed the club following their relegation from the Premier League last season, with Wilson Odobert heading to Tottenham and Arijanet Muric moving to newly-promoted Ipswich Town. Manager Vincent Kompany also left Turf Moor, taking up the Bayern Munich job.
A few more players are expected to leave the club before the window shuts, with Fulham edging closer to a deal with Sander Berge, paying a fee for the midfielder expected to be around £20 million with add-ons. Wout Weghorst is also expected to be heading out of the door, however a move has not yet materialised.
Scott Parker had previously commented on Zaroury’s omission from The Clarets’ squad in their emphatic win over Cardiff City, saying that the winger was ill alongside goalkeeper James Trafford. Vitinho and Luca Koleosho started on the flanks in their win over The Bluebirds, getting an assist and a goal respectively.
Burnley currently top the second-division table on goal difference from Sunderland and Watford and will travel north to play the Black Cats next weekend. The last two occasions the Turf Moor side were relegated from the Premier League, they returned the following season as champions.
Writer’s View
It was always going to be hard to keep Premier League-level players at a club following a relegation, and Burnley have been no different. Their best talent has been poached such as Wilson Odobert and Sander Berge by top-flight clubs. Whilst seen as less of a starting choice by both Vincent Kompany and Scott Parker, Anass Zaroury was still a talented player on his day. The fee they are getting from Lens will be useful in future when they reassess what they need to secure promotion heading into the January window.
Burnley do look like a firm favourite for the Championship title this year, so whilst losing some players will hurt them, it is likely not going to affect their chances. Koleosho and Vitinho are already delivering in games and their depth has been reinforced with the permanent signing of Mike Tresor from Genk. Parker does have the experience of promotion from his spell at Bournemouth so it seems a safe bet to see the Clarets bounce back at the first time of asking.
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