“Only a good thing” – Manager delighted Brentford and Burnley failed in transfer quest, player better off with him

Last week, we covered some claims from Dutch journalist Rick Elfrink, who believed that Johan Bakayoko was right to snub Brentford last summer.

The Bees weren’t the only interested club, as Burnley, fresh from promotion up to the Premier League after winning the Championship, also eyed up the Belgium international for a transfer.

None of it came to anything, with neither the Clarets nor Brentford getting their man, and his manager, Peter Bosz, echoed Elfrink’s comments over the weekend after the winger produced another great display for his club, relayed by Het Nieuwsblad.

He said: “There’s a reason the Premier League clubs that were interested in him wanted him so early. I think that if they want a few years, he would immediately move to a bigger clubs. That’s why it’s only a good thing that he stayed with us.

“He plays in a very good team with us. We play for trophies and that brings a certain form of pressure, meaning a form of ‘must’ rather than ‘may’. That is very good.”

Brentford were said to have gone all the way to offering €40m for the young forward, while Burnley, with Vincent Kompany at the helm, were also strongly linked.

The 20-year-old has been almost ever-present for PSV this season, scoring four goals and assisting another 12 in 22 appearances, as his side top the Eredivisie.

Meanwhile, Brentford are 11th in the Premier League after 13 games, while Burnley sit rock bottom of the table with 4 points and a goal difference of -22.