Sardar Azmoun will not be signing for Burnley or any other Premier League side after all, since Bayer Leverkusen have announced his transfer.
News broke on Friday from various sources that Burnley had made a bid for Azmoun. The Iran international striker was an inviting target, given that his contract with Zenit Saint Petersburg runs out in the summer.
Burnley are in the market for a replacement for Chris Wood, who left them for relegation rivals Newcastle following the activation of a release clause.
Azmoun’s impressive record in Russia made him an ideal target. In fact, Newcastle had also been looking at him themselves, other reports claimed.
But their acquisition of Wood made Burnley the more needy party. Unfortunately for Sean Dyche’s side, though, their bid has been to no effect.
Instead, Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen have announced a pre-contract agreement to take Azmoun from the summer.
They will therefore not have to pay any transfer fee and Zenit will get to keep him until his contract ends.
🤩 what a good day 🤩 pic.twitter.com/GtBhpTHKiI
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) January 22, 2022
He will then be tied down to Leverkusen until 2027, giving him his first taste of Bundesliga football. The rest of his club career has been spent in Iran and Russia.
Azmoun has found the net on 62 occasions from 104 Zenit appearances. At international level, he has 39 goals from 60 Iran caps.
He also had admirers in France, where Lyon were aiming to snap him up. But the Ligue 1 outfit were aware of competition for some time – and Azmoun will be ending up in Germany instead.
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Burnley turn to Ligue 1 attacker as Azmoun alternative?
Meanwhile, the Mirror report Dyche – following the impact of summer signing Maxwel Cornet from Lyon – is eyeing up another Ligue 1 transfer in the form of Armand Lauriente.
The 23-year-old operates primarily on the right wing, though is capable of playing centrally or on the opposite flank.
The Lorient star’s goals return this season is not outwardly impressive. He has just four goals in 18 appearances. However, Cornet scored just twice all season for Lyon in the league last year, and Burnley’s gamble on the Ivory Coast flyer has already proven to be a wise one.
The Mirror indicate Burnley are looking to strengthen in more than one area of their squad. That would suggest Lauriente would not hoover up all of the money recouped from Wood.
Cornet’s success is a factor behind why Burnley are targeting the Frenchman this month. Additionally, they reportedly believe the overseas markets present better value for money than buying from within England.
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