Stade Reims winger Mohamed Daramy has admitted he was close to joining Burnley in the summer but elected to move to France instead.
The winger has been speaking to Tipsbladet about his move in the summer, and why he decided to reject Vincent Kompany’s efforts to get him to Burnley.
The forward joined Reims in a €12m deal in the summer transfer window, electing to leave Ajax after a largely unsuccessful two-year spell following a €12m move in August 2021.
He had several offers on the table despite his relative struggles in the Netherlands, including from Burnley, who were busy reshaping their squad for life back in the Premier League following a superb first season under Kompany in the Championship.
The Clarets pushed hard for his signature, with it widely reported at one point that he was on the verge of making the move to Turf Moor and had given Burnley his preference.
Ultimately the move never came off, though, and he instead elected to make the move to France, where Reims snapped him up and he’s been a regular ever since.
He’s now looked back on a busy summer for him and admits despite being impressed by Kompany, it was Reims who won him over.
“It was between Reims and Burnley this summer. In the end, I chose Reims,” he said.
“I spoke to both Will Still (Reims coach) and Vincent Kompany, so I could hear what plans they had for me and where I could see myself.
“Kompany was a super cool guy. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t close to switching there, but in the end, I went with my gut.
“I took my time and then I chose what I thought was best for me, Daramy tells Tipsbladet.
“Kompany is a great coach, and he had a good understanding. He also taught me some things about making choices because it was a difficult choice for me.
“I talked to him a lot. I told him I had chosen Reims. Of course, he would have liked to have me, but it didn’t turn out that way, and then he wished me luck.
“He also said that if I needed a chat, I could get hold of him, so he seems like a good guy.”
