Burnley secured promotion to the Premier League
Newly promoted Championship duo Birmingham City and Wrexham were targeting a move for in-demand Burnley defender CJ Egan-Riley after sealing promotion to the Premier League last season. However, the pair are now set to miss out on the transfer as Strasbourg look to secure the player.
The Blues secured a return to the Championship at the first time of asking, after setting a record points total on their way to the League One title. They have also been joined by Wrexham, who achieved their own impressive feat by achieving a third promotion in a row.
The pair both have financial might and ambitions to continue their upwards trajectory and have been linked to a host of players including the likes of Jamie Vardy and Christian Eriksen amongst others. However, it would appear that at least one name on their list has opted to move elsewhere.
Burnley’s Out of Contract Defender CJ Egan-Riley Chooses France over Birmingham City and Wrexham
CJ Egan-Riley is out of contract this summer, and is set to depart the club in an attempt to seek opportunities elsewhere. FLW have reported that both Birmingham City and Wrexham are two clubs that were keen to make a deal with the 22-year-old.
The defender has been with the Clarets since joining the club in 2022 after coming through the Man City youth academy. He has enjoyed loans at Hibernian and PSV but is now set to move on after three years at the club.
Appearances 41
Started 40
Minutes per game 88
Total minutes played 3612
Team of the week 3
Clean sheets 26
Tackles per game 1.5
Sofascore rating 7.26
Statistics from SofaScore
Egan-Riley now appears set to move to France with Ligue 1 side Strasbourg.
Disappointment for Blues and Wrexham
For either side to have been able to sign the player would have been a real show of intent, both Wrexham and Birmingham will be keen to push on after experiencing such success last campaign. Adding a promotion winning defender who was part of a side that kept 26 clean sheets last season would have been a superb signing. However, it is very likely that both clubs have a long list of potential targets, and when one moves on they will just move onto the next. Both have significant pull and resources to ensure that they get more “yes” answers than “no” in the pursuit of targets.