Burnley have moved on from Southampton’s Nathan Tella after being priced out of a deal
Burnley have ended their pursuit of Southampton winger Nathan Tella after being priced out of a move, according to Football Insider.
The 24-year-old starred on loan at Turf Moor last season – finishing as the Clarets’ top scorer with 19 goals as they won the Championship at a canter – and has proven his quality already with the Saints now back in the second tier.
Burnley’s pursuit of Nathan Tella
Given his success at Burnley last season, it’s no surprise that the Lancashire club have been linked with re-signing him throughout the summer as Vincent Kompany tools up for life in the Premier League.
Reports first emerged in July indicating that the Saints’ £15 million valuation of the attacker was proving an obstacle to a deal with the Clarets not willing to meet that figure in the talks held between the pair after an initial £9 million bid.
As expected given Alan Nixon’s assertions that Southampton wants to keep Tella when the summer transfer market closes and wants him to sign a new deal, Southampton was also unwilling to bend.
Burnley’s pursuit of the winger has recently received a new update; according to Football Insider, they have given up looking for the Southampton star.
Tella and Chelsea’s Ian Maatsen, two other players on loan from last season, were also targets for Kompany this summer, although he was reportedly interested in neither transaction.
Their current focus is reportedly on acquiring a number nine who can be counted on to score goals in the Premier League.
Will Nathan Tella leave Southampton this summer?
The Clarets update is a boost to Southampton’s hopes of keeping the 24-year-old but they are not the only club that have expressed an interest this summer.
In fact, Mike McGrath from The Telegraph has reported that Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen have submitted an €18million (£15.3million) offer for Tella.
However, reports in Germany have now indicated that the Saints want a fee in the region of €25-30 million (£21.4m-£25.7m) with the rise in his valuation likely to be due to the money brought in from the sales of Tino Livramento, James Ward-Prowse, and Romeo Lavia with Kyle Walker-Peters attracting interest as well.
Russell Martin on Nathan Tella’s future
At the end of July, Martin made it clear that he was keen to keep hold of the winger, who has subsequently started all three of their Championship games this term.
He stated on talkSPORT, via Lancs Live, “I played against Nathan a few times last year and he was without a doubt one of the greatest players in the division. Additionally, he is a talented young guy who had a fantastic season. And yes, maybe we can keep working with him for a while so that he can play a significant role in this.
“Hopefully, we can hold onto a few that are generating real interest,” Martin continued. A few may have to go in order for us to get a few people who truly want to assist us. All we can do is wait and see. All I can do is coach them; I have no influence over anything else.
