Nathan Collins becomes Ireland’s most expensive player after Wolves move

The 21-year-old former Stoke defender has signed a five-year deal with the option of another 12 months, and completed a medical in time to join the club’s pre-season trip to Alicante.

Wolves’ technical director Scott Sellars told the club’s official website: “We’ve looked at Nathan for a while and admired him, so we’re delighted to bring him to the football club.

“He’s a very talented young man – he’s only 21, has played international football and had a good season last year with Burnley. 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. He comes across as expected, a humble young man who is appreciative of the opportunity, so we’re all going to be very happy.”

Having begun his career at Cherry Orchard in Dublin, Collins was brought to England by Stoke and made his senior debut for the Potters in a Sky Bet Championship clash with Swansea in April 2019.

He joined the Clarets in a £12million switch last summer and made 22 appearances, 19 of them in the league, last season as they slipped out of the top flight.

However, he signed off for the campaign on a high when he played every minute of Ireland’s four Nations League fixtures in June and scored a stunning solo goal in the last of them, a 1-1 draw with Ukraine in the Polish city of Lodz.