Burnley’s CJ Egan-Riley is currently in talks with Chelsea’s owners BlueCo ahead of a possible move to Strasbourg this summer, TBR Football can exclusively reveal.
Egan-Riley has enjoyed an outstanding campaign at the heart of Scott Parker’s record-breaking Burnley defence in the Championship.
And as a result, the 22-year-old has emerged as a target for a number of Premier League clubs.
West Ham United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford are all interested in Egan-Riley, who might not stick around for Burnley’s return to the Premier League.
Egan-Riley is out of contract at Turf Moor this summer, and although Burnley had been hoping to tie him to a new deal, the centre-back is now looking set to leave.
Chelsea have recommended CJ Egan-Riley to Strasbourg
TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands that Egan-Riley is now close to finalising a deal to join Liam Rosenior’s highly-rated Strasbourg side in Ligue 1.
The defender has been heavily scouted by Chelsea and they have recommended the signing to club bosses, who are now pushing ahead with a move.
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Parker described Egan-Riley’s performances as ‘immense’ for Burnley this season — a defence which only conceded 16 goals in 46 matches.
But as mentioned, Egan-Riley will be out of contract in just over a month’s time, meaning Burnley will be powerless to stop the likes of Strasbourg from negotiating a deal.
Moreover, should the defender move to France then Burnley will be due substantially less compensation than if he were to move within England on a free transfer.
Of course, Chelsea do have their strong link to Strasbourg and should Egan-Riley impress in Ligue 1 then he could in theory end up making the switch to Stamford Bridge in the future.
CJ Egan-Riley knows Cole Palmer very well
In line with Egan-Riley possibly being on Chelsea’s radar in the future, it’s interesting to recall that the defender played in the same excellent Manchester City youth team as Cole Palmer.
The pair both actually started against Chelsea in the 2020 FA Youth Cup final when Man City won 3-2.
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Palmer and Egan-Riley both played 90 minutes against the likes of Levi Colwill and Tino Livramento.
And perhaps the former Etihad duo could one day be reunited in west London, potentially under another former City man in Enzo Maresca.
But for now at least, Egan-Riley looks set for a new challenge in Ligue 1, leaving a sizeable hole in Burnley’s defence.
