Burnley are in ‘concrete talks’ to sign Sporting B midfielder Renato Veiga, with his representatives discussing a possible move to Turf Moor
That’s according to journalist Dominik Schneider, who says either a permanent deal or a loan move is on the table.
Schneider explains that Veiga is on the list at Borussia Mönchengladbach this summer as they eye up a new defensive midfielder for their squad.
They’re currently focused on finding a back up for Tomas Cvancara, at which point they will turn their attention to a move for Veiga, who has recently
returned to Sporting B from a loan spell at Augsburg.
In the meantime, Veiga’s representatives are in concrete talks with Burnley and Basel, who are also keen on the 20-year-old.
Sporting, for their part, are more than open to a deal and are eyeing up a €6m transfer fee if the player is to leave on a permanent basis. A loan with
an option to buy is also possible, though.
- JJ Watt and his wife Kealia invested in Burnley
- Wants to get US fans supporting the Clarets
- More celebrities investing in English football
WHAT HAPPENED? Former NFL star JJ Watt and his wife and ex-USWNT midfielder Kealia became minority investors at Burnley back in May.
Following their promotion back to the Premier League, JJ wants the ever-increasing following of soccer to start supporting the Clarets, which was
taken over by US consortium ALK Capital in early 2021.
WHAT THEY SAID: JJ told ESPN: “America is craving football content. There’s a large group of people that still don’t have a great knowledge
base, so they’re still trying to find their squad. They’re still trying to find who they’re supposed to support. I think it helps us a lot that more eyeballs
come over. We just direct those eyeballs up to Burnley.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Burnley were relegated to the Championship in 2022 but bounced back at the first time of asking in 2023, something
that was masterminded by manager Vincent Kompany. The Watts’ investment comes at a time when a growing number of celebrities and athletes are
buying into British football, such as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at Wrexham and NFL legend Tom Brady has a minority share in
Birmingham City. That greater exposure is only likely to be a good thing.
The 29-year-old is a familiar face at Elland Road as he ascended the Leeds youth ranks before establishing himself in the first-team. However, he left
under a cloud in 2017 having refused to play in the club’s final game of the season amid Premier League interest in his services.
According to The Athletic’s Phil Hay, Leeds have shown an interest in bringing him back to West Yorkshire. Speaking on The Square Ball Podcast, he
said: “I think they’ll try and do another full-back. Keep eyes on Charlie Taylor at Burnley because they have been looking at him.
Left-back has proven a problematic position ever since Taylor left Leeds for Burnley six years ago.
Junior Firpo was viewed as the solution to the problem two years ago, although his time at Elland Road has been underwhelming.
Taylor’s history with Leeds may prove unsettling among fans considering the current controversy surrounding want-away Wilfried Gnonto, but it has
been argued the Taylor situation was “a bit different”.
Hay said: “I always felt it was a bit different with Taylor. It wasn’t as if Taylor was forcing his way out of the club, he was a game away from being a
free agent and so he didn’t want to get himself injured and to anybody who thinks ‘he should just have played anyway’, look at [Gaetano] Berardi
against Derby. It absolutely can happen.”
Taylor was not named in Vincent Kompany’s squad for Burnley’s Premier League opener against Manchester City, with Vitinho preferred at left wing-
back.
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