Former Celtic star wrestling with ex-Tottenham and West Ham ace to take on EFL manager role

Former Celtic player Craig Bellamy is in the running for the full-time managerial role at Burnley.

The Clarets are in the hunt for a new boss following Vincent Kompany’s surprise exit to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.

Bellamy, who is 44-years-old, has been on the coaching staff at Turf Moor over recent times and has been named in interim charge until a permanent successor is found.

The ex-Wales international may well land the job himself though with The Mirror claiming that he is ‘in the running’ for the position. However, he isn’t the only candidate.  Scott Parker and Frank Lampard are also under consideration.

Ruud van Nistelrooy has been spoken to by Burnley but has decided to move back to Manchester United. West Brom’s Carlos Corberan is also out of the race.

The Lancashire outfit were relegated from the Premier League last season after finishing in the bottom three along with Sheffield United and Luton Town.

They will be eyeing an immediate promotion back from the Championship and are being patient as they wait for the right appoointment.

Bellamy will take charge at the start of pre-season. He has been backed to go into management by some of his peers. Back in 2018, Neil Warnock said: “He has got all the attributes. He has been coaching now for a while. He was disappointed, I think not to get the Welsh job.”

Peter Crouch also said: “I know he was hot-headed as player, but he's mellowed a bit now. He thinks about football 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Celtic had the Cardiff-born man on loan during his playing days back in 2005. He was a hit during his time at Celtic Park and scored nine goals in 16 games in all competitions.

Bellamy made 549 appearances in his career and scored 170 goals before hanging up his boots in 2014.

As well as the Hoops, he also played for the likes of Bristol Rovers, Norwich City, Coventry City, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool, West Ham United, Manchester City and Cardiff City.

He delved into the coaching world with the latter before working with Kompany at Anderlecht.

Bellamy then followed the Belgian to Burnley and has been with them since. He hasn’t joined him at Bayern though.

Kompany’s exit to Germany has raised eyebrows across Europe. However, his new team are adament he is the right man.

Bayern’s CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen explained: "All of us at the club agree that Vincent Kompany is the right coach for FC Bayern and we are very much looking forward to working with him.

“Max Eberl and Christoph Freund have worked tirelessly and meticulously to find a coach who will lead FC Bayern to success and continue to develop the club with new ideas. Vincent Kompany represents exactly the togetherness and team spirit that we need."

Meanwhile, Max Eberl added: “We're delighted to have brought in Vincent Kompany to FC Bayern. We were immediately on the same page in our discussions with him. He clearly showed us how much the job at FC Bayern appeals to him and that he is keen to take it on.