Burnley And West Ham Suffer Blow In Interest In Bundesliga Attacker

Burnley and West Ham United have suffered a blow in their interest in Sheraldo Becker, with the Union Berlin attacker setting his heart on a move to Italy.

Becker was a key man for Union Berlin last season as they sprung a surprise and booked a spot in next season’s Champions League.

The 28-year-old scored eleven goals, providing seven assists for his team-mates, in 34 Bundesliga outings and in the process attracted eyeballs.

Burnley, West Ham and Fulham are all firm admirers, but despite this, according to German daily Bild, Becker’s camp have changed their transfer strategy.

The striker is now aiming for a move to Serie A.

Becker believes that he could have an opportunity to move to a club involved in the Champions League or at least the Europa League if he heads to Italy.

In the Premier League, only suitors West Ham could offer European football.

His camp also think that his pace and physical attributes would give him an edge in Serie A which would maybe not be the case in the Premier League.

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Sunderland are doing all they can to keep hold of Jack Clarke this summer, despite strong interest from Burnley.

Sunderland want £15m for Jack Clarke

The 22-year-old enjoyed a brilliant individual campaign as the Black Cats reached the play-offs, with Clarke scoring nine goals and registering 12 assists.

Therefore, it’s perhaps no surprise that there is top-flight interest in Clarke, and it’s Burnley who are pushing hardest to sign the former Leeds man.

The latest update has suggested that Sunderland are holding out for £15m for Clarke after turning down an offer in the region of £10m. It remains to be seen whether the Clarets meet that asking price, with the report stating it could be too expensive.

Yet, it’s thought that Kompany still wants a new wide man, and here we outline THREE reasons why he is so keen to bring Clarke to Turf Moor…

We’ll start with the obvious one. Clarke is a fantastic player, who was highly-rated at Leeds, which saw Spurs splash out to sign the player from Leeds.

So, the natural talent has been there, but Clarke hadn’t shown what he could do over a significant length of time. That changed under Tony Mowbray though, with the wide man taking his game up a level over the past six months.

To have 21 goal contributions in the Championship is outstanding, but it’s not just the end product, as Clarke is a constant threat with how he plays. He can go on the outside, he can come infield, and he has a great change of pace.

If the move did happen, Burnley would be getting someone who is one of the top talents outside of the Premier League.

Crucially, Kompany would be getting a player that would be able to thrive in his system.

Anyone who saw Burnley play last season will have recognised that they are a team that love to attack, and they play with real width. In truth, it wasn’t too different to the front foot approach that Sunderland adopt, and it’s what attacking players want.

Of course, you would imagine Burnley won’t be doing as much attacking in the Premier League, but Kompany isn’t going to abandon his principles entirely. With that in mind, Clarke seems the perfect fit, and he would take that position on the left flank, where he would be a massive threat.

Finally, at 22 Clarke is a player who has his best years in front of him, so it would be a smart long-term investment for the Clarets.

That also means he could be sold on for a bigger fee in the future. Sunderland themselves have put a big focus on recruiting young players who have room to grow, as it makes business sense, so the same would apply to Burnley.

Given his age, the club could get great value out of Clarke over the next few years, and then potentially sell him on for a profit down the line. From both a financial and football perspective, this is a transfer that could work very well for Burnley.