To see Vincent Kompany sit down at target a lot of players in Belgium to bolster Burnley’s squad really is no surprise.
After all, the manager knows the country very well from his time as Anderlecht manager, and the fact he tried to sign some from his old club makes a lot of sense as well.
One of those was Kristian Arnstad, who arrived in Belgium in 2019 when the Burnley manager was a player/coach at the Jupiler Pro League club, as the player revealed to VG in his home country.
He will have seen the midfielder’s growth first hand and gave him a lot of appearances during his time there, clearly believing the 20-year-old to be a special talent.
In fact, not only did the Clarets try to sign him once, they made ‘several bids’ for the player, according to VG, with the biggest being reported at around £4.5m.
Arnstad said: “They didn’t agree, but of course it’s cool to have some interest. I had [Kompany as manager] for the first two years he was in Anderlecht. We have a good relationship and you learn a lot from having him. You notice that he has been under Pep and other managers for a long time.
“He has absorbed a lot there that he tries to teach the rest of us. He has a lot of respect among everyone around him. You just have to take in what you can.”
As for a potential move to the Premier League? “It’s a dream to play there one day. Now, there was no agreement, so I just try to focus on where I am now.”
