Burnley manager Vincent Kompany could be a busy man over the next few months as the Belgian attempts to build a squad capable of competing in the Premier League.
The head coach led the club to glory in the Championship, winning the title with 101 points, and could look to the summer transfer window to improve his team.
Foot Mercato recently reported that the Clarets are seriously considering a swoop to sign Bristol City defensive midfielder Han-Noah Massengo, who has been on loan at Auxerre this season.
The 21-year-old is out of contract at Ashton Gate this summer after joining them from Monaco for €8m (£6.9m) in 2019 and is set to be available as a free agent, which could make him a bargain signing for Kompany.
How has Han-Noah Massengo performed this season?
He joined Ligue 1 side Auxerre on loan for the second half of the 2022/23 campaign and enjoyed a strong five months of action in his home country.
The talented France U21 youngster, who was once dubbed a "roaming playmaker" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has showcased his defensive instincts in the middle of the park and his ability as a holding midfielder could make him the perfect heir to 33-year-old Burnley ace Jack Cork.
Massengo averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.85 across 13 appearances in Ligue 1, where he also made 3.3 tackles and interceptions per game, which shows that the French enforcer is able to win the ball back for his side on a regular basis.
Cork, on the other hand, averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.77 across his 39 outings, where he made 2.5 tackles and interceptions per league match for the Clarets.
The former Monaco man has also won 53% of his duels in comparison to the Englishman's 51% and this means that the youngster has made more defensive interventions per appearance whilst also being more efficient in his attempted challenges.
Both players have a pass completion rate between 86 and 87% and have the quality to be reliable in possession to go along with their excellent defending in front of the back line.
Massengo is also 12 years younger than Cork and this means that the ace has plenty of years left ahead of him to grow and develop and could do just that under Kompany's coaching at Turf Moor.
Therefore, the soon-to-be free agent could be the dream long-term heir to the veteran defensive midfielder and could lean on the Englishman's experience to help him improve before eventually taking over in that position in the team.