How Burnley really feel as CJ Egan-Riley departure confirmed, it’s a ‘huge blow’ to Premier League plans

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Burnley are about to lose star defender CJ Egan-Riley this summer, and we can exclusively reveal how the club is feeling about that imminent departure.

After storming to promotion and narrowly missing out on the Championship title, you’d think Burnley would be gearing up for life in the Premier League with a sense of excitement.

However, Scott Parker’s plans for the top flight have got off to a less-than-ideal start, with key man Egan-Riley now confirmed to be joining French outfit Strasbourg on a free transfer at the end of his contract next month.

Now, in an EFL Analysis exclusive, we can offer an insight into how the club have taken this news and what it means for their plans moving forward this summer.

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How Burnley feel about CJ Egan-Riley departure

Speaking to our transfer expert Graeme Bailey, we were able to discern the sentiment from within Turf Moor after the news of the Egan-Riley move broke, and it’s not looking good for Burnley.

Bailey said: “This is a huge blow to Burnley, it really is. We already know that Josh Brownhill is likely to leave on a free, but to lose Egan-Riley too, that is disappointing and the fact he goes abroad, the compensation is way lower.

“Egan-Riley was outstanding this season, an England Under-21 international. Burnley had some hope and I am told they are hugely disappointed to learn he is set to leave the club.

“While they are celebrating promotion, Burnley could be in for a tough summer – sales could still be required and this news only adds to their worries.”

With Egan-Riley departing, and his fellow centre-half Maxime Esteve also wanted by a number of clubs, there will be a great deal of work to be done in the summer transfer window for Parker to rebuild his impressive Burnley defence.

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CJ Egan-Riley’s stats for Burnley this season

Digging a little deeper into Egan-Riley’s role in that record-breaking Burnley defence this season, it’s easy to see why they’re so disappointed to lose him.

The 22-year-old made 43 appearances this term, and while he only registered one goal and one assist, it is obviously his defensive work that was more crucial to Burnley’s success.

Egan-Riley won 1.02 tackles per 90 minutes, at a success rate of 91.9%, which is absolutely huge. He also made 2.41 tackles and interceptions per 90, as well as a whopping 4.97 clearances each game (on average).

He was also useful in helping Burnley progress with the ball. Egan-Riley clocked up an 86.2% success rate for his passes, and made an average of 3.23 progressive passes per 90 minutes.

Suffice to say, Egan-Riley’s absence will impact the Clarets very much next season. But, Burnley’s loss is very much Strasbourg’s gain, and he is a player that should flourish in France.