Four new signings for the under-23s
Burnley’s under-23 side will be moving into Premier League 2 this coming season and as the planning continues, we’ve added four new players to the squad. The four are goalkeeper Marc Richter, defenders Marcel Elva-Fountaine and Connor Barrett and finally midfielder Will Rickard who have all signed initial one year deals.
20-year old goalkeeper Richter has been signed from Augsburg. He had a trial with the club during last month following the arrival of new German goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte. Elva-Fountaine, a right back, is just 19 and has previously played for Reading while Barrett, a central defender, is an 18-year-old who had been at Leicester. Midfielder Rickard, also 18, is a Welsh youth international who has just left Swansea.
Elva Fountaine said on signing his deal. “I’m delighted. It’s a great club and a good opportunity. Since I’ve been here it seems inviting. Everyone seems level headed and on the same path and after the same objective. On my way here I visited the stadium and you can see the history. I like to remember the roots of a club. I noticed pictures of past players around the stadium which are good gestures.”
He’d previously been with Spurs and added: “As a footballer, things change all the time. There are different opportunities every season. You’ve just got to be ready for anything. You’ve got to be fit and ready to crack on and I’m ready to crack on.
“I’ve been working hard. I started my pre-season when this whole lockdown thing started. I haven’t taken my foot off the gas at all. Every single day I’ve been at it. I’m not here to take it easy. I’m going to be observing and keep focused. The little bits I will pick up on will make a difference, especially with the full-backs here in front of me. They are experienced and have had great careers. I’m going to pick up and learn some bits from them along the way.”
Rickard said of his time at Swansea: “It was nice to progress there but being there for so long, it’s nice to have a fresh start and something new, so I was chuffed to hear about this and come here now. I couldn’t wait to start. It was nice to hear Burnley have gone Category One and how they have done in the Premier League, it seems like a great club. I just want to get my head down, focus on my football and see how the season goes.”
Barrett is from Leicester and said of his departure: “It was disappointment, but also excitement,. I knew that as one door closed another was opening and I’m excited about a new challenge. Leaving home will help me mature and it’s the next step of growing up.
“Burnley have established themselves in the Premier League and as a club it seems to have everything. You can’t really ask for more I want to try and cement a place in the under-23s as a start and work from there.”
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