Why Burnley should secure the signing of Bryan Linssen

As per a report from Voetbal via Football Oranje (h/t Yorkshire Live), Burnley are interested in signing Vitesse Arnhem attacker Bryan Linssen, who will be a free agent this summer.

The 29-year-old Linssen spent the early years of his youth career at the academies of Veritas and VVV-Venlo, before joining the Fortuna Sittard youth setup. After making 14 first-team appearances, in which he scored four and assisted three, the forward joined MVV Maastricht in 2009. He featured 31 times for the club, bagging 7 goals, before signing for VVV-Venlo in 2010.

Linssen spent three years at the Dutch outfit, managing 14 goals and 8 assists in 78 appearances. In 2013, he signed for Heracles, where he spent two years, scoring 25 goals in 70 matches. The Dutchman was then signed by Groningen in 2015, where he netted 16 times in 70 games, before joining Vitesse in 2017.

Since joining the club, the 29-year-old has featured 113 times across all competitions, contributing with 47 goals and 20 assists.

Burnley’s need for attacking reinforcements

Burnley are not the most free-scoring side in the English top-flight. Over the course of the season, Burnley have managed just 34 goals in the league. Chris Wood has been the leading light in attack, bagging 11 goals. Fellow centre-forwards Ashley Barnes and Jay Rodriguez have chipped in with six and five goals respectively as well.

However, Matej Vydra has struggled to make an impact, while there hasn’t been much goal-contribution from the flanks either. Dwight McNeil has managed just two, while Robbie Brady and Johann Berg Gudmundsson have netted just once each. Aaron Lennon hasn’t netted a single goal so far and is out of contract this summer.

So it would bode well for Sean Dyche & co. to add more firepower to their attacking unit before next season. To that end, signing Linssen would be a good move by Burnley.

The 29-year-old has been in fine form over the last three seasons at Vitesse. He finished the 2017/18 term with 20 goals and 9 assists in 44 games, following it up with 13 goals and 4 assists in 41 matches in 2018/19. In the 2019/20 campaign, the Dutchman has managed 14 goals and 7 assists in all competitions.

A consistent performer for the Dutch outfit, Linssen would also bring his years of experience to the table, while his versatility would also come in very handy. Indeed, the 29-year-old can play on either wing or as a striker, providing Dyche with quality depth in multiple positions.

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Verdict

Given the goal-shy nature of Burnley’s wingers, it would serve them well to bolster their ranks this summer. And signing Linssen would achieve just that for the Clarets. The 29-year-old has been in fine form for the last three seasons and would add a much bigger goal threat from the flanks at Turf Moor.

Furthermore, the Dutchman will be available on a free transfer with his contract expiring. Hence, signing him should be a no-brainer for Burnley.