Burnley FC made £8.5m profit in quick transfer turnaround: View | OneFootball

Burnley FC made an £8.5m profit on former defender Nathan Collins

The 2024/25 season sees Burnley plying their trade at Championship level for the second time in three seasons, following relegations from the Premier League at the end of both the 2021/22 and 2023/24 campaigns.

The Clarets had previously enjoyed six consecutive seasons at top-flight level, largely under the management of former boss Sean Dyche, from 2016/17-2021/22.

The highlight of that Premier League stint and, indeed, the club's time under Dyche, was when the Clarets finished seventh in the 2017/18 top-flight table, and consequently landed a Europa League qualification spot.

Prior to the 2021/22 season, which saw the Lancashire outfit relegated back to the Championship at the end of it, Burnley signed centre-back Nathan Collins from Stoke City in a deal worth £12 million, as reported by the Burnley Express.

Nathan Collins helped Burnley create a quick, significant transfer profit

Sadly for Collins, his first - and ultimately last - season with the Turf Moor side was one of the most challenging periods of his career to date as the Clarets faced relegation.

He made 19 Premier League appearances as part of a Clarets defence who conceded 53 goals in 38 top-flight matches, much fewer than Watford and Norwich, who conceded 77 and 84 respectively, and were consequently relegated alongside the Lancashire side.

In fact, Arsenal finished fifth following the 2021/22 campaign, and conceded 48 goals, which shows the relative solidity of a Burnley backline which Collins played a role in.

However, the Clarets' defensive efforts that term were not enough to beat the drop, as they only managed to score 34 goals, and were relegated to the Championship.

Although the former Potters man could not help the Lancashire club stave off the threat of relegation, he still provided the Turf Moor faithful with a couple of happy memories.

He may have only scored two goals during his Clarets spell, but both of them contributed towards important victories, as he scored during a 2-0 win over then relegation rivals Southampton in April 2022, as well as opening the scoring during a 3-2 win over Everton, who ultimately avoided the drop by just four points, also in April 2022.

Collins' efforts were noticed by Wolverhampton Wanderers, who paid £20.5m for the centre-back's services, as reported by the Daily Mail in July 2022, and helped the Clarets turnover a profit of £8.5m on the Ireland international in the space of just one year.

Perhaps if Burnley had managed to avoid relegation to the Championship in 2022, Collins would have stayed at Turf Moor for longer, and could have even become a fan favourite.

But from a financial point of view, the Lancashire outfit will always be grateful for the defender's one-season stint, as he enabled them to make an £8.5m profit in transfer fees in a short space of time.

While the Clarets can thank the Potters academy product for helping them make a quick profit, Collins can be grateful for the fact that the Lancashire outfit brought him to the attention of the Premier League.

After spending just one season with Wolves, the defender was on the move once again as he signed for Brentford in a deal worth £23m, in July 2023, as per BBC Sport.

At just 23 years old, Collins is establishing a reputation as one of the most promising centre-backs in the top-flight, and is a regular feature in the Ireland national team.

While the Clarets will always remember the significant transfer fee they received for the Irishman's services, the defender himself will always look back on the Lancashire outfit as the first club who gave him a platform at Premier League level.