Burnley Opinion: The acquisition of Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo could mark the beginning of a more dynamic recruitment policy at Turf Moor
According to Lancashire Live, Burnley have been credited with an interest in Rapid Wien full-back Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, with reports claiming that recently-relegated outfit Huddersfield Town are also interested in securing the services of the 23-year-old.
Lancashire Live understands that Bolingoli-Mbombo, who is the cousin of Man United star Romelu Lukaku, is rated at £3 million by the Austrian heavyweights.
The 23-year-old left-back made a total of 42 appearances for Rapid Wien in all competitions this past season and contributed with 2 goals and 5 assists. Bolingoli-Mbombo also featured in the club’s Europa League campaign, which ended with a defeat against Inter Milan in the Round-of-32 stage.
A youth product of Belgian outfit Clube Brugge, Bolingoli-Mbombo made his first-team debut for his boyhood club in the 2013-14 season before going on to play a more significant role in the subsequent campaigns.
However, the youngster found himself in and out of the first-team due to stiff competition for places and managed only 64 appearances in all competitions over the course of four seasons, scoring on 7 occasions.
The highlight of the 23-year-old’s time at Clube Brugge came in the 2014-15 season of the Europa League, with the left-back scoring a brace against Besiktas in the Round-of-16 to propel his team to the quarter-finals.
Bolingoli-Mbombo featured in the Champions League in the 2016-17 season before leaving his homeland to join Austrian outfit Rapid Wien in 2017.
The left-back made an instant impact in the Austrian top-flight and established himself as one of the mainstays of Wien’s first-team in his debut season. In all competitions till date, Bolingoli-Mbombo has made a total of 73 appearances, scoring thrice and assisting a further 10 in the process.
To put things into perspective, Burnley are currently not crying out for reinforcements at left-back, although the Clarets might consider bringing in a replacement for Stephen Ward, who departed the club on a free transfer upon the expiry of his contract this summer.
Although it is not absolutely necessary for Burnley to sign a new left-back right now, the Clarets’ links with Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo suggests that the club has finally extended its scouting base to hunt for talents outside the country.
Recruiting British-based players has been one of the hallmarks of Burnley’s transfer policy over the years, with Belgian midfielder Steven Defour being one of the very few players to have arrived at Turf Moor from foreign leagues.
Adopting such a stance in the market has worked well for Sean Dyche, who apparently favours investing in youngsters who have honed their skills in English football. That sort of thinking certainly makes sense, given that Burnley haven’t got millions to throw around in the market and bringing in homegrown talents eliminates a lot of risk as well.
Burnley have often shown the inclination to look at proven Premier League quality players in the transfer window, but one cannot help but feel that the Clarets gradually need to spread their scouting network throughout the continent and look for bright emerging talents in the foreign leagues if they are to keep moving in the right direction.
In other words, Burnley need to adopt a more dynamic approach while recruiting new players. While bringing in homegrown players should continue to be a priority, the Clarets should also be open to the idea of playing low-cost gambles on young players who are plying their trade elsewhere in Europe.
That scouting network eventually needs to spread its roots to the other continents as well in due course of time.
Burnley have already got the likes of Robbie Brady and Charlie Taylor to fight it out for the left-back role but someone like Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, with his pace, trickery and versatility to play as a winger further up the pitch, could add that X-Factor and unpredictability to the club’s ranks.
It is true that Brady is also capable of playing as a winger but that should not put Burnley off in their pursuit of the 23-year-old left-back.
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To sum it up, the acquisition of Bolingoli-Mbombo would be a bold move by Burnley and, maybe, the beginning of a more dynamic recruitment policy at Turf Moor.
