Burnley record signing ‘almost done’ as Kompany also agrees to sign £12m Dortmund teenager

Fabrizio Romano says Burnley are closing in on the double signing of Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford and Borussia Dortmund’s Soumaila Coulibaly.

Clarets boss Vincent Kompany appears to have been impressed by Trafford’s performances for England at the Under-21 European Championships.

The Young Lions have reached the last four of the competition, where they will face Israel. The other semi-final is between Ukraine, who knocked out tournament favourites France, and Spain.

Trafford, 20, made his debut for the U21s last October and is the first choice for this summer’s tournament.

Incredibly, he is yet to concede a single goal in four games so far with England so far beating Czechia, Israel, Germany and Portugal.

Furthermore, he managed to provide an assist for Harvey Elliott’s goal in the Group C victory over Germany’s U21 side.

And with the summer transfer window in full swing, Burnley are interested in signing the 20-year-old, who would likely become their number-one goalkeeper for the new season.

Incidentally, the Clarets signed Arijanet Muric from Manchester City last summer and made him their No. 1, but could replace the Kosovo international after a year at Turf Moor.

According to transfer expert Romano, Burnley are ‘closing in’ on the signing of Trafford, who is yet to make a first-team appearance for the European champions.

The Premier League new boys will pay £14million plus add-ons for the young shot-stopper, which does indicate he will take the No. 1 shirt away from Muric.

Trafford, who spent the last 18 months in League One with Bolton Wanderers, is ‘keen on the move’ to Turf Moor.

Romano insists the deal is ‘almost done’ and fellow journalist Jack Gaughan says Burnley are ‘looking to tie up’ the £19m signing.

And a report from The Athletic says City ‘are likely to include a 20 per cent sell-on clause as well as having the option to buy Trafford back and the opportunity to match any rival bids if they want to re-sign him in the future’.

The £19m Burnley are set to pay for Trafford will be a club record, surpassing the £12m they paid for Wout Weghorst in January 2022.

Kompany previously targeted Anderlecht’s Bart Verbruggen, who officially joined Brighton on Monday for around £16.3m.

Meanwhile, Romano has also said Burnley are edging closer to the loan signing of Dortmund youngster Coulibaly.

The French centre-back joined the Bundesliga outfit from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer in July 2021 and has made two appearances for his current club’s first team.

Romano says Coulibaly will join on loan for the season before a ‘mandatory buy clause’ for €15million (£12.8m) becomes active next summer.