While the loan deal taking Maxime Esteve from Montpellier to Burnley has been finalised, that doesn’t mean the Ligue 1 side are entirely happy about everything.
That’s according to L’Equipe, who have an article on the matter on Friday, as they look back at the deals made by the French club, including the one sending the centre-back to the Clarets.
Everyone knew the deal was in the pipeline, with Burnley making the 21-year-old a clear target to bolster their defence in the late part of the transfer window.
The problem is Michel Der Zakarian, Montpellier’s manager would have ‘preferred’ to keep his star player until the end of the season.
What also wasn’t ‘expected’ was the formula in which Esteve went to Burnley, since it was a loan with an option to buy that is almost obligatory, with the deal likely reaching €12m and €2m of bonuses on top.
Montpellier wanted a transfer, with the money paid up front, but that clearly wasn’t to be, but the Clarets and Vincent Kompany won’t care, because they got the player they wanted.
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