Burnley and French team Caen have reached an agreement for Burnley to sign gifted forward Andreas Hountondji, according to Get Football News France and L’Equipe.
The Benin international had a breakout season in Ligue 2 in France the previous year, scoring 16 goals across all competitions while on loan at Rodez. Hountondji will not be going back to the Stade Paul Lignon despite Le Raf’s incredible play-off performance; instead, he is traveling to England to work with new manager Scott Parker at Turf Moor.
Reports suggest that the deal will be worth £3.4 million as Burnley set their sights on returning to the Premier League. Also, according to both articles, the Clarets have managed to fend off Champions League interest in the form of Stade Brestois and newly-promoted Ligue 1 side Saint-Etienne in their quest for the 22-year-old striker
The Lancashire club is preparing for a new chapter with the employment of former Fulham, Bournemouth, and Club Brugge manager Parker. Vincent Kompany left for the Bayern Munich position following the club’s relegation from the Premier League. The Clarets will lack strikers come 2024–2025 because top scorer Jacob Bruun Larsen is returning to his parent Bundesliga club Hoffenheim, David Datro Fofana is returning to Premier League powerhouse Chelsea, and Wout Weghorst is probably leaving Turf Moor this summer.
Hountondji was a standout player in Ligue 2 last season, with the striker chipping in a combined total of 23 goal contributions in all competitions for the Normandy-based side who lost out on promotion to Ligue 1. Rodez came agonisingly close to promotion to the top tier of football in France but lost in the promotion play-off final against a side now interested in his services in the form of Saint-Etienne. However, Caen, Hountondji’s parent club, finished one point outside the playoffs.
The Clarets need some reinforcements after the disappointment of last year’s relegation back down to the second tier of English football. With Kompany leaving, Burnley have seemingly now gone down the experienced route, with Parker being a winner both in his playing days and in his managerial career, winning promotion to the Premier League with Fulham as a manager via the play-offs in 2020 and two years later pulling off promotion with Bournemouth.
Burnley’s international recruitment in recent years has been impressive, signing players from the likes of the Eredivisie, Ligue 1 and the Jupiler Pro League when they were in both the Championship and the Premier League. The club are seemingly looking to continue this front with new manager Parker in charge in the hope that they can bounce back to the top-flight at the first time of asking.
