New Zian Flemming transfer twist emerges at Burnley

An update has emerged over Zian Flemming’s future at Turf Moor.

Burnley will be accelerating preparations for their Championship return after suffering relegation from the Premier League.

The Clarets endured a second straight relegation from the big time, taking 22 points from their 38 league games and finishing in 19th place.

The Lancashire outfit now have Nicky Hayen in charge to help get the club back into the Premier League at the first time of asking, with the 45-year-old winning the Belgian Pro League two seasons ago with Club Brugge and taking the club to the Europa League Round of 16 this past campaign.

It will be intriguing to see how Hayen will get on in his role at Burnley, with massive expectation on his shoulders to deliver a promotion push while not having any previous experience of managing at second tier level.

Meanwhile, a major issue that continues to linger on is the future of Zian Flemming, who was Burnley’s standout star in the Premier League last season, scoring 11 goals in his debut top-flight campaign from 29 appearances.

And following Burnley’s exit from the top-flight, Brentford have previously shown serious interest in securing the services of the 27-year-old and handing the Dutchman a route back into the Premier League.

Nevertheless, no deal is yet to be agreed and Flemming remains a Burnley player, with the frontman set to be part of the Clarets’ Championship campaign at this moment in time.

With Flemming's future still up in the air, Burnley boss Hayen has offered a transfer update on the saga, with a fresh twist emerging.

Nicky Hayen refuses to rule out Zian Flemming, Burnley exit

Burnley supporters will be hopeful Zian Flemming remains at Turf Moor ahead of their Championship return, but the forward has been open about his ambition to continue playing in the Premier League after getting a taste for it last season.

Meanwhile, new Burnley boss Nicky Hayen has given an update on Flemming’s future, revealing he has ‘hope’ the forward will remain with the Clarets, but admitted the club could accept a bid from a Premier League club if the price is right.

Hayen also admitted he has no concerns over Flemming’s work rate, with the Dutchman expected to be involved in pre-season preparations and then during the Championship season, should a top-flight move fail to materialise.

As reported by the Burnley Express, Hayen, when asked if Flemming is likely to stay, said: “We hope so.

“Zian is also someone like Tino [Florentino Luis], he's working 100 per cent on the pitch. Zian is not a guy who's going to say like: ‘I want to leave Burnley’. He's working really hard.

“Of course he wants to take the next step in his career, but I think every player has a price. When the right price is paid by a Premier League club, for example, then he can go.

“But as long as that's not the case, Zian will commit himself even more than 100 per cent to the club and that's also the things that he shows on the training pitch.”

There was some slight concern among the Burnley faithful given Flemming played no part in their recent US pre-season tour, but that was strictly extra time off after he recently became a father, and he is expected to play some part in Sunday's friendly against Ajax.

Burnley face a big battle on their hands to keep Zian Flemming

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In what was a miserable season for all connected with Burnley last term, Zian Flemming is one of few that came out of it with his head held high.

To score 11 goals in his first ever Premier League campaign and in a Clarets side that has struggled to create significantly in the final third all season was a brilliant feat, and there’s no doubt the goals would continue to flow in a much better top-flight outfit with increased service.

For Burnley, there’s no doubt their promotion chances would dramatically increase if Flemming remained on the books, but with the player setting his sights on moving back to the big time and interest failing to cool down, there’s still a big battle on to retain his services before the 1st September deadline.

And that’s something boss Nicky Hayen has acknowledged, refusing to fully rule out the exit of Flemming, so you do feel from those comments that something could be developing in the pipeline.

The positive for Burnley is that any sale should see them make a profit on the original £7m fee they spent on him, with those additional funds so important for their summer transfer window as they look to build a squad good enough to get immediately back to the big time once again.

While it will be a big blow for the Clarets to lose Flemming, he is deserving of such an opportunity, and many Burnley fans wouldn’t begrudge him moving on given he wants to succeed at the highest level of the game.