Burnley: Kompany can replace Muric with “impressive” Butez
Despite boasting the best defensive record in the Championship last season, Burnley are seemingly seeking a new goalkeeper.
The transfer window may only have been open for a week, but already Burnley have found themselves linked with a couple of different goalkeepers ahead of their Premier League return.
What are the latest Burnley transfer rumours?
Following reports Anderlecht ‘keeper Bart Verbruggen is on Vincent Kompany’s radar, L’Equipe now claims Royal Antwerp’s Jean Butez has been approached by the Clarets.
Is Jean Butez an upgrade on Arijanet Muric for Burnley?
Given Burnley boasted the best defensive record in the Championship en route to storming to promotion last season, bringing in a replacement for Arijanet Muric may seem strange on the face of it.
But Muric – on a reported £20,000 a week, according to Capology – came in for criticism at times last season for perceived errors and was also criticised for his passing out from the back.
As Burnley Express Sports writer Chris Boden put it following February’s 1-1 draw with Watford, Muric’s “passing was poor” and he “makes a number of mistakes”.
Kompany brutally opted to bring off Muric at half-time for Bailey Peacock-Farrell after his number one gifted Joao Pedro the game’s opening goal.
That is not to say former Manchester City stopper Muric is a bad keeper – a Championship-best 0.77 goals conceded per 90 minutes last season and a division-high 76.7% of shots saved says as much.
But Butez boasted similar numbers in Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League – which is near enough on a par with the English Championship in terms of quality, according to Global Football Rankings – as the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets.
Indeed, on the face of it there are plenty of similarities between Muric and Butez, such as goals against per 90 minutes (0.77 v 0.76 respectively) and save percentage (76.6% and 76%), as per FBref.
Butez has many admirers across Europe, with La Liga side Villarreal also reportedly showing an interest, having built up a showreel of impressive saves.
As football writer Josh Bunting pointed out, Butez looked “very impressive” in the Antwerp goal when making a couple of big stops in a 1-0 win against Gent.
As a commanding presence (he measures in at 6 foot 2) and someone comfortable with the ball at his feet, as his 74.15% pass-completion rate showed last season, Kompany may well decide that he is prepared to twist by signing Butez, rather than sticking with what he has in Muric.
