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Burnley are closing in on a move to sign Arsenal defender Daniel Ballard on a permanent move.
The newly relegated club, now managed by former Manchester City kipper Vincent Kompany, are in advanced talks to sign the Northern Irish international.
Ballard is a graduate of the Arsenal academy which he joined at the age of eight, but he has never appeared for the senior team. Instead the 22-year old has enjoyed a series of loan moves, to Swindon Town, Blackpool, and most recently, Millwall last season.
The Gunners intend to insert a clause in the sale agreement which gives them the right to match any future bids for the players from other clubs.
Kompany already has close links to Arsenal because of his prior relationship with Mikel Arteta from their City days together, and is looking to steer Burnley back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.