THE £3.5 MILLION BURNLEY MAN IS “ONE OF THE TOP IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE,” SAYS THE INTERNATIONAL BOSS

Ameen Al-Dakhil of Burnley is a huge favorite of Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco, who calls the center back “one of the fastest defenders in the Premier League.”

The task facing former Schalke and RB Leipzig manager Tedesco is to find a new center-back duo that can replace the shoes of living legends Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertongthen as they ride off into the international sunset.

Ameen Al-Dakhil’s chances of being included in Tedesco’s Euro 2024 plans will therefore have been much enhanced by his impressive display during Belgium’s 1-0 friendly victory over Serbia on Wednesday night.

At Turf Moor, the Burnley defender made an impression under challenging circumstances. He silenced Aleksandr Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic, helping the Rote Duivels hold onto the lead that former Atletico Madrid player Yannick Ferreira Carrasco had given them in the second minute.

Burnley’s Ameen Al-Dakhil shines for Belgium

At full-time, Tedesco remarked to Sporza, “You don’t get the feeling that Ameen is such a young defender when you see him at work.” He is among the Premier League’s best defenders in terms of innate speed. When he is out of position, he can recover.

He never loses his composure and doesn’t look to be 21. Though he has time to improve, he isn’t the strongest. We need to have faith in him.

Al-Dakhil was signed by Burnley in January for about £3.5 million from Belgian team Sint-Truiden. The speedster, who was born in Iraq, had appeared in all of the Clarets’ Premier League games under Vincent Kompany prior to being sidelined by an injury against Crystal Palace and Arsenal.

An almost ever-present

At the international level, Al-Dakhil shares a locker room with Dodi Lukebakio. Burnley lost out on the opportunity to connect the former with the latter, losing out to Serbia for the former Hertha Berlin forward during the summer transfer window.

“Because (Sevilla) showed interest,” the La Liga rookie said to Marca, elaborating on why Burnley lost out on a transaction that looked like it was close to completion earlier this summer.

“You have to pay attention, of course, when a team like Sevilla expresses interest. Thus, we converse frequently. You don’t need to give it much thought because I want to play there, prove myself, and develop as a young player. It’s a top-tier club.

“Choosing Sevilla was not difficult at all.”