Wolves have signed Irish defender Nathan Collins on a five-year deal in £20.5m transfer from Burnley

Wolves have signed Burnley defender Nathan Collins for £20.5million to make him the most expensive Irish player in history, signing a five-year deal at the Molineux with an option of a further year. 

Collins had only joined Burnley last summer on a four-year deal, but departs the relegated side to fill the vacancy left by Romain Saiss, who left at the end of his contract at the Molineux.  

Collins becomes Bruno Lage‘s first signing of the window, and signed in time to join up with the rest of the squad ahead of their pre-season tour to Spanish city Alicante.  

Republic of Ireland defender joins Wolves for £20.5 million on a six-year deal at Molineux

Wolves technical director Scott Sellars said: ‘We’ve looked at Nathan for a while. We think we’ve signed a player with a lot of potential, as well as being a very good footballer now.

‘We’re getting someone who is physically very good, very tall, very athletic, and is very comfortable on the ball – he can step in and take the ball forward, which is what we need. He’s very good in both boxes and has real aerial strength.

‘The feedback on his personality is about his leadership qualities, he’s a good character, so he ticks all the boxes. 

Collins became a regular in Burnley’s defence following the injury to club captain Ben Mee

‘He comes across as expected, a humble young man who is appreciative of the opportunity, so we’re all going to be very happy.’

Despite his best efforts Burnley suffered relegation to the Championship

Having broken into the Stoke City first team in 2019, Collins earned himself a move to the top flight two years later, joining Burnley for an initial £12.6m. 

However despite his best efforts – including goals against Norwich City and Middlesbrough last season – Burnley slipped into a relegation battle that they could not win. 

Sellars heaped praise on Wolves’ recruitment team when announcing the Irish defender’s arrival, saying: ‘They put the hours in, speaking to people and watching the games, going to live games and watching the videos, getting analysis and data, which has led us to the right decision. 

‘It’s taken time, but we’ve got there in the end. We know we’ve lost some players and need to fill those spaces, so it’s important that we look at that. We’re delighted to get the first one and hopefully there’ll be more coming through.’ 

Whilst Wolves had not added to their squad prior to the signing of Collins, they have had a £25m bid from Everton for England Under-21 International midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, which has been rejected.  

The 21-year-old can play as a centre-half or right back and has six caps for Ireland scoring once