Burnley, Watford and Cardiff City in transfer battle for centre-back | OneFootball

The Championship trio are all reportedly eyeing a Panamanian swoop this summer

Championship trio Burnley, Watford and Cardiff City are all in a three-way transfer tug-of-war for the services of Panamanian central defender Edgardo Farina.

Burnley, who are reportedly closing in on the managerial appointment of Scott Parker to replace Vincent Kompany, may find themselves in the defensive market amid reports linking Dara O'Shea to Scottish giants Celtic.

The Clarets may be able to convince O'Shea to stay put at Turf Moor for the time being, though, given that they will be widely-tipped to make an automatic return to the Premier League at the very first time of asking after succumbing to a dispiriting relegation under Kompany last time out.

Meanwhile, Watford also endured a disappointing campaign by finishing 15th in the second-tier standings, just six points above relegated Birmingham City in 22nd-place.

Out of the three tusslers for Farina's signature, Cardiff's 2023/24 season was perhaps the one of most relative success, with the Bluebirds finding much-welcomed stability under former Fenerbache boss Erol Bulut and recording a 12th-placed finish after spending the two seasons prior battling against relegation to League One.

But if they have designs towards improving that finish, they must make centre-back a priority position this summer after the return of impressive loanee Nat Phillips to Liverpool.

Burnley, Watford and Cardiff City's transfer interest in Edgardo Farina

The surprise revelation comes from a report by Football Insider's Pete O'Rourke, where it is claimed that the three sides are joined by Dutch outfit Feyenoord in their interest of Farina amid an impressive Copa America campaign with the Panama national side.

The Central American nation are currently embarking upon a historic run to the tournament's quarter-final stage, where they are set to face Colombia after graduating from a challenging group which contained Uruguay, USA and Bolivia.

Farina himself is believed to have caught the eye across the course of the competition thus far, having faced off against the likes of Darwin Nunez, Christian Pulisic and ex-Middlesbrough loan forward Folarin Balogun.

O'Rourke's report adds that Burnley, Watford and Cardiff have all made their interest known to Farina's team CAI de La Chorrera of the Panamanian top-flight, although with the player still away on international duty, it may be some time before a deal can be struck.

Burnley, Watford and Cardiff City should all cast their eyes elsewhere

Recruiting players solely off the back of an impressive international tournament is frequently warned against, and rightly so.

Most players naturally express a stronger degree of passion-fueled patriotism when representing their nations, which doesn't always translate to the club game.

It's also a very small sample size to judge from, which feels naive when clubs can often spend up to years carefully tracking every minute detail of an outlined transfer target.

And while it's clear to see that Farina has enjoyed a fine run with Panama in this summer's edition of the Copa America, his club career leaves more questions than answers.

The towering defender has spent the last two seasons out on loan from CAI, and was plying his trade in Guatemala's top division in the most recent campaign.