Burnley playing catch up in race for FC Nantes striker | OneFootball

Burnley have joined the race to sign FC Nantes' Stredair Appuah

Burnley are said to have joined the race to sign FC Nantes striker Stredair Appuah but are playing catch up as Palermo have already made an offer.

That's according to L'Équipe - relayed by Get Football News France - on Tuesday morning, who claim that the Clarets have joined the likes of the Italian side in the race to acquire the young forward's services ahead of the new season.

The East Lancashire side are continuing to undergo a rebuild among the squad at present, with new boss Scott Parker tasked with the job of regaining the club's Premier League status at the first time of asking after enduring a dismal season in the top flight under new Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany.

At present, Parker still has a core squad of players at his disposal that are more than capable of mounting a promotion bid despite an abundance of exit talk surrounding some key assets, and it seems that sweeping changes are still expected in the striking department amid fresh reports.

Burnley join the race for FC Nantes' Stredair Appuah

As per L'Équipe - via Get Football News France - it is believed that Burnley have joined the race to sign FC Nantes' Appuah but face strong competition from two other sides in pursuing the 20-year-old's signature at this moment in time.

Those other European sides come in the form of Swiss Super League outfit BSC Young Boys, who, like the Clarets, are yet to put forward an offer to 'Les Canaris', with Serie B outfit Palermo said to be showing the strongest hand out of the trio of clubs.

It was reported last week that Palermo had joined Venezia in expressing an interest for his signature, with the latter of those clubs submitting a €1.8m offer to Nantes, before Emmanuel Merceron of Ouest-France claimed it on Thursday that a €2m bid from the Sicilian outfit "could close the deal quickly", despite it being reported that the Ligue 1 side have placed a valuation of approximately €3m on Appuah, who is under contract at the Stade de la Beaujoire until the summer of 2026.

Stredair Appuah's career so far

The strong interest in Appuah from an abundance of sides shows how highly rated the forward is after breaking into the first team picture with the Loire-based side, having signed his first professional contract with the club in August 2023 after joining from PSG in May 2021.

After impressing for the club's U19 and B-Team, the Sarcelles-born man was handed his senior debut on 12th March 2023 in a 2-2 home draw against OGC Nice, making a nine-minute cameo before going on to feature four further times until the conclusion of the Ligue 1 campaign.

Furthermore, Appuah has made four appearances in the first team under Antoine Kombouaré in the season just gone, averaging 20 minutes per game against Lille, RC Lens, Toulouse and Stade Rennais.

Burnley's previous success in the French market

Whilst there is clearly a limited sample size in terms of professional outings in Appuah's career so far, Burnley's previous success with signings from French shores shows the club are looking for the 20-year-old to emulate the likes of Wilson Odobert, who has recently been linked with a move to Ipswich Town.

Furthermore, such ideologies have continued to be implemented under Parker, with the club recently acquiring the services of Andréas Hountondji from SM Caen, after the 22-year-old scored 14 goals in 36 Ligue 2 outings last term.

Appuah's profile shows he is capable of featuring as a left-winger as well as the focal point of an attack, which are currently two areas of the squad where the Clarets are stacked with high-profile names and seasoned Championship performers.

However, with the likes of Odebert linked with a move to Portman Road and Trabzonspor reaching an agreement for the acquisition of Wout Weghorst, those outgoings could pave the way for Appuah's arrival, but given the stern competition, a bid will likely need to be submitted imminently.