"Would be a surprising move" - Burnley rival Leicester and Leeds in Sunderland transfer chase: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

That is according to a report from TEAMtalk, who claim that the 21-year-old is on the club's radar as the January transfer window approaches.

The Clarets are not the only side interested in the Northern Ireland international, though.

TEAMtalk also claim that that two Championship clubs are also keen on the Sunderland man, with promotion contenders Leicester City and Leeds United also reportedly keeping tabs on the player.

Any club that does sign Hume will likely have to pay a decent fee for his services, though.

The 21-year-old is contracted at the Stadium of Light until the summer of 2027, with Sunderland also holding an option to extend that by a further year.

That contract was only just signed this past summer.

Would Trai Hume be a good signing for Burnley?

The above report raises many questions, one of which is, would Trai Hume actually be a good signing for Burnley?

To answer that, below, some of our FLW writers have offered their thoughts on the reports.

Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson

On the one hand, it is not hugely surprising to see a young up-and-coming player like Trai Hume being linked with a Premier League side.

In recent seasons, he has been excellent at Sunderland and has now established himself as a regular, evidenced by the fact he has started 19/19 games for the club this season, playing the full 90 minutes in all but one of those.

It would be a surprising move for Burnley to make in January, however, given the current talent they have on their books.

Connor Roberts and Vitinho are both excellent full-backs, and you do wonder where Trai Hume would fit in at Turf Moor were he to make a move there this season.

It would surely mean very little game time for the player, and, when you consider that Sunderland will likely want a healthy fee for his services, it doesn't really seem as though it would make sense for Burnley.

Given the Clarets fight for survival in the Premier League, they may well be best spending their cash elsewhere, for now.

The addition of a young player like Hume, who would be great for the future, is not going to make or break their Premier League survival chances.

Alfie Burns

Burnley is an interesting link here and one that will surely catch the interest of Trai Hume if it intensifies next month.

They are a Premier League club, and although they are fighting to retain their status in the top-flight, they offer a guarantee that Leicester, Leeds and Sunderland don't right now.

Vincent Kompany has also proved to be an excellent coach for young talents like Hume, nurturing and developing players in the Championship and giving them a chance in the Premier League. He strikes you as a coach that you want to work for.

Whether Burnley's priority in January needs to be another hybrid left-back/right-back, I'm not so sure. Despite pasting Sheffield United 5-0 over the weekend, the Clarets look short of firepower to me and need to address issues in the final third in the New Year. However, as a Premier League side, it's not outrageous to be covering more than one base on a window-to-window basis.

Hume has the guarantee of games at Sunderland right now, which he wouldn't get at Turf Moor given Kompany's full-back options, whilst he's involved in a squad pushing for the top-six under a good manager in Tony Mowbray.

It's just whether the bright lights of the Premier League and a unique coaching experience under Kompany attract his interest in 2024. You wouldn't be surprised if they did.