The size of the task facing Leeds United and Burnley next season is enormous. With all six newly-promoted sides facing instant relegation from the Premier League over the past two seasons, both clubs will need reinforcements across the board to stand any chance of staying up.
But the Clarets, who finished behind Championship title winners Leeds on goal difference, look set to lose one of their best players this summer. Multiple sources are reporting that centre-back CJ Egan-Riley has agreed to join French side Strasbourg.
Media outlets talkSPORT and leading French newspaper L’Equipe suggest that an announcement is close and Egan-Riley is on the brink of penning a five-year deal with the Ligue 1 outfit. The defender, a first team regular for Burnley this term as they conceded a miserly 16 goals in 46 matches, is approaching the end of his Clarets contract.
Strasbourg, managed by ex-Hull City boss Liam Rosenior, and are on the cusp of qualifying for European football. They are currently sixth in the table with one match remaining.
Given CJ Egan-Riley has formed a formidable partnership at the heart of Burnley's rearguard with Maxime Esteve as Scott Parker’s side chalked up a record-equalling 30 clean sheets, losing the 22-year-old for nothing would be a major blow to their hopes of consolidating in the top flight next year. CJ Egan-Riley made 43 appearances during the 2024/25 campaign, scoring once as the Clarets hit the 100-point mark.
Burnley chairman Alan Pace told the Burnley Express: "This summer is big. Planning is super, super important. It's going to be a lot of work.
"There’s no doubt about what we've seen over the last two years with six teams going up and six teams coming back down, so we've got our work cut out for us and this summer is going to be a big part of that. But we think we can do it.”
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