Kompany in advanced talks with Burnley after leaving Anderlecht
Burnley are close to appointing Vincent Kompany as their manager in what would be a significant coup for the club in the wake of their relegation from the Premier League.
The former Manchester City captain parted company with Anderlecht yesterday and is now set to become Sean Dyche’s long-term successor at Turf Moor.
Telegraph Sport first reported the news of Burnley’s interest in Kompany last month and talks have been ongoing for weeks but it was thought then that the club’s hopes of enticing the Belgian would likely hinge on them staying in the Premier League.
However, Kompany is not believed to have been put off by Burnley’s relegation to the Championship on Sunday and discussions have accelerated since then, with the club’s owners, ALK Capital, huge admirers of the 36-year-old.
The prospect of a return to the north west of England appeals to Kompany, who spent 11 years at City, during which time he won four Premier League titles. His wife, Carla, is from Manchester and their three children were born and raised in the area.
Kompany would be taking on a huge challenge at Burnley. Relegation has raised concerns about the financial impact on the club, with a significant proportion of a £65million loan that ALK took out to help finance their takeover in December 2020 now due for repayment this summer.
It is unclear at this stage what assurances Kompany has sought over budgets and the squad – or what the Burnley chairman Alan Pace has been able to promise him – but the club is facing the prospect of considerable upheaval. Nine players, including James Tarkowski and club captain Ben Mee, are out of contract next month and the club disclosed in their recently published accounts that players will have to be sold to help soften the financial blow of relegation.
Maxwel Cornet and fellow winger Dwight Mcneil are among those Burnley could lose.
Mike Jackson was placed in temporary charge until the end of the campaign after Dyche was sacked last month.