Burnley: Tella signing can make Weghorst a thing of the past
Nathan Tella fired Burnley to Premier League promotion last season, but Southampton will not let him join permanently for cheap.
Burnley may have been left scarred from signing Wout Weghorst for a big fee during their most recent campaign in the Premier League, but they cannot let that put them off moving for top target Nathan Tella this summer.
The Clarets splashed out an initial £12m rising to £15m for Weghorst in January 2022, ranking him among their all-time record signings, yet the Dutchman scored just two goals in 20 appearances and was then farmed out to Besiktas.
Weghorst appeared to revive his career with some good displays for the Netherlands at the World Cup, leading to a half-season loan to Manchester United, but no goals in 17 top-flight outings at Old Trafford killed off that trajectory.
Now back at Turf Moor ahead of the 2023-24 season, it is unlikely Vincent Kompany will rely on the 30-year-old to keep the Clarets in the division. Instead, the Belgian head coach should persuade his own bosses to spend that same £15m amount to bring Tella back to the club.
Should Burnley pay £15m for Nathan Tella?
According to The Sun reporter Alan Nixon, that is the sum Southampton are after for Tella, who lit up the Championship last season with 17 goals and five assists.
No Burnley player could match Tella’s goals return (Manuel Benson was next highest with 11), while the four Man of the Match awards he was given by WhoScored could not be bettered by any team-mate.
With 22 direct goal involvements, meanwhile, Tella ranked fifth among all Championship players in that metric.
