Clarets swoop for Eagles

Winger calls time on United career

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 29th July 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Clarets swoop for Eagles

Eagles: One for the future

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Burnley have signed Manchester United winger Chris Eagles for an undisclosed fee.

The Clarets are believed to have splashed out more than £1million to secure the services of the youngster, and have handed him a three-year contract.

Eagles had been with the Red Devils since the age of 14, progressing through the academy system at Old Trafford.

However, he was unable to establish himself within the first-team set-up and regularly found himself being sent out on loan.

Spells at Watford, Sheffield Wednesday and Dutch outfit NEC Nijmegen allowed him to display his undoubted potential, but he still failed to convince Sir Alex Ferguson.

He featured prominently in United's recent tour of South Africa and Nigeria, finding the target against Kaizer Chiefs and Portsmouth, but has decided that his future lies away from the Premier League champions.

Impressed

The signing represents a significant coup for Burnley, who have already welcomed five other new faces to Turf Moor this summer, and Owen Coyle is delighted to have got the 22-year-old on board.

"I think it's fair to say that we have finally landed one of our major targets," the Clarets boss told the club's official website.

"I have watched Chris for years and he has always impressed me. He is just a really gifted footballer, so I asked the question a few times and the answer was no all the time.

"I just kept going back and in the end it has paid off because we have undoubtedly signed a quality player, as he showed recently with Manchester United in South Africa.

"He is still only 22 and I am sure he has a big future ahead of him."

Big step

Eagles admits that he was in a 'comfort zone' at United after spending so long at the club and is relishing the prospect of taking on a new challenge at Turf Moor.

"It's no good me sitting in the stands," he said.

"United need to win every game and they're not going to play someone who hasn't been playing regularly.

"I was in a comfort zone because I had been there since the age of 14.

"It was a hard move to leave a club where I knew everyone from the cleaner to the manager.

"It's a big step but I believe it's a step in the right direction.

"I was very impressed with Owen Coyle and am just looking forward to playing regularly."