Burnley have made one signing thus far in the January transfer window, recruiting striker David Datro Fofana from Chelsea on a short-term loan deal, but they continue to be active as they look to strengthen Vincent Kompany's squad.
The Clarets are said to be on the verge of signing Maxime Esteve, the Montpellier centre-back, in a deal that will be worth just over £10m. They appear to have beaten off significant competition to land the Frenchman.
Another Ligue 1 player has also piqued the interest of the relegation-threatened Premier League side, this time a midfielder in Marseille's Pape Gueye. Kompany and Burnley have been "incessant" in their pursuit of Gueye, who's into the final six months of his contract at the Stade Velodrome. Now, as the deadline looms, there's been a significant update from France on the player's future.
Marseille doing all they can to force Gueye out
According to Foot Mercato, Marseille are desperate to sell Burnley target Gueye before the window closes. The player is of a mind to leave at the end of the season, potentially because he's already reached an agreement to join another club on a free transfer, but Marseille want him out now while they can still receive a fee.
The club held talks with the player's entourage last month, but Gueye rejected two offers to extend his deal. Marseille offered him a pay rise and a "nice signing bonus", but it still fell short of his expectations because he wanted one of the highest salaries in the squad.
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After those talks broke down, the Ligue 1 club asked him to pack his bags, aware of interest from clubs like Burnley, but Gueye hasn't actively sought a winter move. Whether he stays or goes at this point, he may never play for them again, with bosses threatening to exclude him from the squad for the remainder of the season if he doesn't leave.
The report stated that Marseille would make this clear to him when he returns from the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal and, significantly, the holders were knocked out on penalties by the hosts Ivory Coast on Monday night.
Burnley hope Marseille threat works
Marseille signed Gueye from fellow French club Le Havre in 2020, but the circumstances of that deal were controversial. FIFA found that he'd already agreed to join Watford, only to go back on his word, and they subsequently banned him from playing for four months.
As a result, while Gueye has played 103 games for the club overall, he's only featured three times this season, coming off the bench in a few Ligue 1 matches before he headed off to AFCON.
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Burnley can only hope that Gueye, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Sevilla, hasn't already shaken hands with a rival suitor, and that he sees the light when he returns from AFCON. The threat of not featuring for the next four months or so should be a fairly powerful one.
