Burnley are lining up Sunderland’s Lamine Kone to be the replacement for Michael Keane according to a report from the Daily Mail.
The Clarets have done well to stay in the Premier League the last couple of years and a lot of that was down to Michael Keane who was a rock in their defence. However Burnley will no longer have that rock in defence after they sold him to Everton for a fee that could eventually rise to £30m. This means the Clarets need a replacement and are looking to one of the teams that were relegated to the Sky Bet Championship to find their man.
They have been taking a closer look at Kone in recent weeks and may make a move in the next few weeks. He signed for Sunderland in January 2016 after a protracted saga and he made all the fuss it took to sign him worth it in the first few months of him being at the Stadium of Light. While his form did drop last season as Sunderland were relegated from the Premier League, Burnley still think that he could be the Keane replacement that they need.
And it seems like Sunderland would be willing to sell. Their head coach Simon Grayson wants to cut the wage bill so he can make his own signings and getting Kone’s £60K a week wages off the books would be a great way of doing that. The man himself is also keen on a move so he can continue to play in the Premier League rather than the Championship.
