Burnley have undergone a major squad overhaul under Vincent Kompany, leaving just seven players remaining from last season’s relegated side.
Kompany has signed 26 different players since joining Turf Moor in 2022, including high-profile names such as Aaron Ramsey and Sander Berge.
However, one of Belgium’s best signings has already seen his value increase by 270%.
Under new manager Vincent Kompany, Burnley won promotion to the Premier League last season after just one year in the league.
Despite only being in charge for a year, the Belgian completely revolutionized Burnley’s team, with only seven players relegated.
Since arriving at Burnley in July 2022, the former centre-back has signed 26 different players on a permanent basis across three transfer windows, of which the most recent window brought in 15 players.
Before managing Burnley, the Manchester City legend managed Belgian club Anderlecht for two years. This led him to sign some of his best players from his former team.
One of these players is 27-year-old midfielder Josh Cullen and by the looks of things, Kompany’s decision to sign the Irishman appears to have been inspired by
Kompany first signed Cullen for Anderlecht in 2020 from West Ham for £500,000, and during his two seasons in Belgium the midfielder made 80 appearances.
But when the four-time Premier League winner moved to Turf Moor, the Hammer’s Academy graduate quickly followed.
Cullen became Kompany’s fourth signing, returning to England just eleven days after his manager’s move, for a fee of £3 million, including additions.
The Ireland international has already signed a new three-year contract with the Clarets since signing last summer.
After signing the contract, he revealed he was looking forward to continuing to play for Burnley.
“I’m really happy to extend my stay here, especially after last year which was a very successful year for the club.
“It will be great to get back to Turf Moor this weekend, be in front of the fans again and hopefully get our first three points.”
Kompany bought Cullen after excelling under him in the 2021/22 season, which saw Anderlecht finish third in the Belgian Pro League.
According to Sofascore, the English-born midfielder was the third best player in his team with an excellent average rating of 7.20.
Additionally, he also ranked second in accurate passes per game (62.2), fourth in key passes per game (1.1), third in accurate long balls per game (4.4) and first in tackles per game (2 ), according to SofaScore.
This shows how integral he was to Kompany’s all-round game as his quality in many different areas allowed him to control the center of the pitch.
Furthermore, while Cullen was on loan from West Ham to Charlton, Irons captain Mark Noble revealed to the Evening Standard what a talented player he was.
“He has the desire to improve every day.
“He is a talented boy with a big heart and he will have a good football career.
“It just shows you that you can do it if you’re willing to support yourself and take out a loan rather than staying in the comfort zone.”
Cullen’s best form continued after his move to Turf Moor as the midfielder helped Burnley win the Championship last season.
His form is also reflected in his statistics. According to FBref, he was in the top 4% of all European midfielders last season in terms of passes per 90 minutes.
Additionally, he ranked in the top 7% of touches, top 2% of successful attacks and top 7% of transfers per 90 minutes.
This shows that he was once again the star of Kompany’s midfield as all movements went through him and he then had the ability to successfully move the ball up the field to an attacking position.
“Of course football always pushes you to be selfish, it just happens because you have to look after yourself, and yet there are very few players who consciously decide to put the team on top.”
“The best way to describe Josh [Cullen] is that he arrived at Anderlecht as a Charlton player and became the most important player in my team.
“Then he came to Burnley, back into English football in the Championship, where he started to really help us, and became one of the most important players in the team.”
Thanks to his stellar performances, the 27-year-old has seen his value increase astronomically.
According to Transfermarkt, he is now worth £11.1m, meaning Burnley have seen his value increase by 270% since they signed him a year ago.
Cullen confirmed his performances in the league by starting well in the Premier League.
So far this season he is Burnley’s seventh best performing player, with an average Sofascore rating of 6.73.
Furthermore, he is first for big chances created per game (1), fourth for accurate passes per game (46.3) and third for tackles per game (1.3).
This shows that although he has made a big step forward, the midfielder can still have a positive impact on his team
