"Bump his price tag up" - Burnley FC reaction given to £3.2m transfer claim | OneFootball

FLW's Burnley fan pundit discussed a potential summer sale for Hjalmar Ekdal

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Burnley have been backed to recoup the transfer fee they shelled out for Hjalmar Ekdal, who has been surplus to requirements for large parts of his stay at Turf Moor and could be available to leave permanently in the summer.

Ekdal was acquired by Vincent Kompany from Swedish outfit Djurgardens for a reported £3.2 million figure back in January 2023, when Burnley were en-route to returning to the Premier League as champions.

The seven-cap Sweden international impressed in his nine Championship appearances but was used sparingly last time out by Kompany as Burnley suffered instant relegation, playing just eight times in the Premier League.

Ekdal found regular opportunities even harder to come by under Scott Parker during the first-half of the current campaign, with his only appearance coming as a substitute in a 3-1 FA Cup third-round victory at Reading before leaving on loan to Groningen.

The central defender has caught the eye thus far in the Eredivisie, with his future back at Burnley hanging very much in the balance. As per Swedish outlet FotbollDirekt, Burnley still believe Ekdal could have a future at Turf Moor and are not willing to part ways on the cheap, with the Championship promotion hopefuls reportedly intent on recouping their expense from more than two years ago.

That's despite Ekdal making just 19 appearances for the Clarets, who have been told they may even be able to profit on the Swede's signature.

Burnley FC transfer verdict offered on Hjalmar Ekdal

FLW asked our Burnley fan pundit, Will Lancaster, whether he believes his side's intention to recoup their fee for Ekdal is a realistic goal.

Although the defender has not featured too regularly in Lancashire, Will has argued Burnley should be able to at least recoup, if not profit, from what they shelled out for his services.

"I think it would be a fair fee to be honest, if Burnley managed to recoup the £3.2 million they paid for Ekdal," Will told FLW.

"He signed in January 2023 under Vincent Kompany in the Championship and came in for Taylor Harwood-Bellis when he was injured and really seamlessly fit into that passing mantra that Kompany had.

"Last season, he did quite a lot of chopping and changing with his backline. Dara O'Shea came in and then other recruits who weren't quite that good as in Ameen Al-Dakhil and Hannes Delcroix, who was nowhere near Premier League level.

"When Ekdal did play, and admittedly that was only on a handful of occasions, he was solid enough and I was quite surprised that Burnley loaned him out in the last window.

"Obviously CJ Egan-Riley and Maxime Esteve have been brilliant so far, but I think especially with John Egan being sold to Hull, Ekdal has already done it a bit at this level for a top side and his quality on the ball was evident for all to see.

"So I was quite surprised, but from what I've just said, he's at least worth the £3.2 million we did pay for him, bearing in mind Burnley took him from a lesser side in Djurgjardens in Sweden and made him a Championship winner and a Premier League player.

"That alone should bump his price tag up a little bit from what we paid. Obviously, the caveat to that is he's not quite flourished at Turf Moor, but every time he's played I've been really impressed with him.

"I think that [recouping the fee] is a realistic goal and maybe even beyond that, to be honest."

Hjamlar Ekdal's Burnley FC future could hinge on promotion and Maxime Esteve

There are plenty of spinning plates at this stage and it's not yet clear whether Ekdal has a realistic future in the Burnley side. That may just depend on the outcome of Burnley's promotion bid, with Parker's side firmly in the running to return to the Premier League automatically at the very first time of asking.

Promotion would hand Burnley the finances to bolster their defensive options and hopes of retaining star defender Maxime Esteve, who has been linked to the likes of AC Milan and Everton.

Should the Clarets fall short of achieving promotion, it does seem likely Esteve will leave and they may need to retain Ekdal after all.

It will be interesting to see how this saga plays out in the coming weeks and months, and all Ekdal can do at this stage is continue to impress with Groningen.