Burnley were immediately sent back to the Championship after they made their way back to the Premier League in the 2014-15 season. However, the Clarets showed enough determination once again to get back to the top tier immediately in the strongest possible manner. Burnley just managed to beat Boro and Brighton for the Championship title last season and will be looking to cement their place in the Premier League this season.
The Clarets are looking quite active in the transfer market to bolster their squad and have made four major signings so far with Jamie Thomas, Robbie Leitch, Nick Pope and Johann Berg Gudmundsson. Sean Dyche’s side are agonizingly close to their fifth signing of the summer with Jon Flanagan on a season-loan from Liverpool if reports are to be believed.
If Flanagan joins Burnley, he will become the ninth Liverpool player to depart during the summer transfer window. The idea is quite clear that Klopp is looking for a fresh new start with the Reds with only those players who fit in his plans. However, the idea of loaning out Flanagan is due to completely different reasons.
The right-back needs to regain his sharpness after a long spell on the sidelines and unlikely to get that if he stays at Liverpool this season. The 23-year-old defender underwent a wretched 18-month spell at Anfield due to a troublesome knee injury and it took him a long time to finally come back to the first team picture. We are saying ‘picture’ only because the 23-year-old could never really challenge either Clyne or Moreno for the first-team spot.
Scouse born and bred, Flanagan is definitely a heart-throb of the Liverpool fans. Despite not being the most talented full-back, he is someone who always gives him 100% on the pitch, a player who plays for the famous Liver bird. In the 2013-14 season, Flanagan made such an impression that each and every Liverpool fans across the globe must have considered him as a player for a very long-term future, one of their very own.
At Burnley, Flanagan will get the game time he needs to come back to his full fitness and bring back the confidence. Liverpool are without European football this season which means it would have been tough for him to get time on the pitch ahead of Clyne or Moreno.
A passionate and charismatic manager like Klopp would definitely love to have a player like Flanagan in his team who gives everything in his locker for the team and the fans. Loaning him out to a team where game time looks guaranteed ahead of Matthew Lowton is a good decision from Klopp.
