Hannibal Mejbri responds excitedly to Burnley’s Maxime Esteve announcement
Hannibal Mejbri has responded with excitement after Burnley confirmed some huge news regarding teammate Maxime Esteve.
Burnley sealed promotion back to the Premier League in April with a stellar defensive record that saw them finish as runners-up in the Championship after conceding just 16 goals all season.
That total saw them clinch the record for least goals against in a single season in English football history, and French centre-back Esteve was a key part of their success after he had made his loan move from Montpellier a permanent one last summer following their relegation to the second-tier.
Burnley have already sold key man James Trafford to Man City this summer, and Football Insider revealed in April that Premier League outfit Everton were plotting a summer move for Esteve, while former scout Mick Brown has also tipped Crystal Palace with interest in the Burnley centre-back.
Tottenham have been in talks to sign Esteve as Thomas Frank overhauls his defence, and Burnley have now moved to release an announcement regarding the French youth international’s future at Turf Moor.
Burnley announce new contract for Esteve
Despite so many rumours linking Esteve away from the club, Sky Sports’ Lyall Thomas reported on 25 July that the 23-year-old was on the verge of agreeing a new improved contract with Burnley.
The Clarets have now moved to confirm his new deal at Turf Moor on Instagram on Wednesday (30 July), saying: “Burnley Football Club are delighted to announce that centre-back Maxime Estève has signed a new five-year deal with the Club. Here to stay” with a flexed bicep emoji.
Their huge announcement was reacted to excitedly by Esteve’s teammate, Hannibal, who replied: “C !!!!!!!” while PSG star Bradley Barcola, Wilson Odobert, Axel Tuanzebe, Wilson Isidor and Djeidi Gassama all liked the post.
Burnley had to keep Esteve after losing key players
Football Insider verdict
Esteve is undoubtedly a top defender that has the potential to get even better, and from a personal point of view, he is probably be best served spending another season with Burnley to get a full campaign’s worth of Premier League experience under his belt before he moves on to bigger things.
It always felt less likely that they would allow the Frenchman to leave this summer due to a number of their best players already leaving the club in Trafford, Josh Brownhill and CJ Egan-Riley, so it is huge for the Clarets to be keeping him as they return to the Premier League for the upcoming campaign.
| Appearances | Starts | Goals | Yellow cards |
| 46 | 46 | 1 | 3 |
Bayern Munich had been planning to bid to sign Esteve soon, as revealed by Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, while Burnley have placed a sizeable £50million price tag on his head in the face of said interest, and so getting him to sign a new contract will not have been an easy task by any means.
With Esteve now tied down, Scott Parker’s side need to carry on being active in the transfer market to give themselves a better chance of staying up at the first time of asking, and former scout Brown recently revealed to Football Insider that the Clarets are frontrunners to sign Sam Johnstone after Trafford’s exit, which would be a good way to continue their business as the season gets ever closer.