Chester Academy earns club another windfall as defender gets big-money move

Harrison Burke, pictured playing for Chester at Edgar Street, has completed a move to League Two side Walsall

Chester's academy has delivered another financial boost to the club, with defender Harrison Burke sold to League Two play-off finalists Walsall for a “significant” – though undisclosed – fee.

The 21-year-old centre-back has signed a three-year deal with the West Midlands outfit, having risen through the ranks at the Deva Stadium.

Burke’s sale marks the fifth time in seven years that a Chester academy graduate has earned a move to the Football League, with the club saying cumulative transfer fees have now reached hundreds of thousands of pounds – a vital revenue stream for the fan-owned National League North side.

Burke enjoyed a standout 2023/24 campaign, netting 13 goals from defence, earning a place in the National League North Team of the Season and being named Chester Fans United Player of the Season for the second year running. In total, he made 154 appearances for the Blues.

Manager Calum McIntyre praised the move as both a personal and club milestone.

“You never enjoy seeing your best players leave the football club,” he said, as reported by the club's website. “But in this case, it is a move that is richly deserved and is the next step in Harrison’s career.

“His performances and development have quite rightly seen him earn the opportunity to progress up the football pyramid into the EFL and the professional game.

“Harrison becomes the fifth academy graduate in seven years to progress for a transfer fee into the EFL. The academy has now generated hundreds of thousands of pounds for the football club in player sales alone.”

McIntyre described the deal as “one of the most significant transfer fees the club has received since reforming,” and “by far and away our biggest as a National League North club".

“Having worked with him as both man and boy for nearly a decade,” he added, “I am so pleased his hard work, personality and dedication has delivered him this opportunity.”

Burke becomes the third player in the last 12 months to step up into the Football League from Chester, further cementing the club’s reputation as one of the most productive talent pipelines in non-league football.