Following the capture of Leeds United defender Charlie Taylor, Burnley wasted little time in confirming their second summer signing, snapping up Jonathan Walters from Stoke City for a reported fee of £3 million.
The Republic of Ireland international penned a two-year contract at Turf Moor, bringing to an end a seven-year association with the Potters.
Walters explained that his departure from Stoke was prompted by the desire for a change of scene.
“I’m delighted with the move. I’d been at Stoke a long time – there’s only a couple of lads who have been there a bit longer than me – but I just felt the time was right.”
The History
Walters certainly had to take the long road to establish himself as a Premier League performer.
Starting out with Blackburn Rovers, he then took in spells with Bolton Wanderers, Hull City, Wrexham and Chester City before making a real breakthrough at Championship outfit Ipswich Town.
In a three-and-a-half year spell at Portman Road, Walters registered 32 goals and 25 assists in 146 appearances in all competitions, helping pave the way for a £2.75 million move to Stoke in August 2010.
He produced six goals and three assists in 36 matches in his maiden Premier League campaign and followed that up with seven goals and five assists from 38 outings in 2011/12, operating primarily in a support striker role.
He netted a career-best eight times in both the 2012/13 and 2014/15 seasons, but over recent years has seen his first-team opportunities limited, falling behind the likes of Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri in the pecking order.
Last season, Walters registered four goals and three assists from 23 appearances, with most of his starts either coming on the right wing or as a centre-forward.
Walters made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in a 2-1 friendly defeat to Norway in November 2010 and has made 49 appearances for his country, producing 14 goals and four assists.
The Prospects
While Walters, 33, is now entering the latter stages of his career, his work rate and discipline should make him an ideal fit at Burnley.
The Clarets lost wide man George Boyd earlier this summer after he rejected a contract offer and joined Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.
So in Walters they look to have an ideal replacement on the right side of midfield, while the Republic of Ireland international could also compete with the likes of Andre Gray, Sam Vokes and Ashley Barnes for the forward spots.
Indeed, on arrival at Turf Moor, Walters was quick to underline his versitility.
“I can play in a number of positions and prefer playing up front. From Christmas onwards last year I think I played 10 of 11 games up front and scored four, then got a couple with Ireland, so that’s my favourite position. I’ll play anywhere across the front four though and there’s a lot of hard work ahead now to try and get in the team and do well.”
Dyche generally favoured either a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 formation last term, and is expected to stick to a similar formula after preserving the Clarets’ Premier League status.
In terms of the right-wing position, Walters looks set to battle with the likes of Robbie Brady, Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Scott Arfield, although Brady and Arfield played the majority of their football on the left flank in 2016/17.
Looking at Walters’ underlying statistics from last season, he averaged a shot every 51.84 minutes.
That was inferior to both Brady (37.68) and Arfield (47.89), although slightly stronger than Gudmundsson (58.65).
Walters also struggled in the creativity department, only producing a key pass every 108 minutes.
Brady again shone brightest in that area, creating a chance every 42.12 minutes, superior to both Arfield (61.97) and Gudmundsson (66.47).
The numbers aren’t particularly encouraging then, although history has shown Walters is a better player when given a lengthy run in the starting XI – something he struggled to acheive last term.
Coming off a disappointing campaign, Walters, who was classified as a midfielder with a starting price of 6.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) in 2016/17, could be in line to drop to 5.5 this time around.
Should he command a regular starting spot, that could represent decent value, particularly if he is considered in the pecking order for penalties.
The 33-year-old has scored 11 of his 16 spot-kicks in the Premier League, and with Gray, Barnes or Vokes all taking two each last season, there may be a chance that Walters can move to the front of the queue.
Burnley’s opening fixtures could temper any investment in their attacking assets, though.
Dyche’s men start the season at champions Chelsea, while their following four away trips (tot, liv, eve, mci) are also very treacherous.
The home schedule (WBA, CPL, HUD, WHM, NEW) is very favourable, but it’s more likely that Clarets defensive assets are more appealing as rotation options compared to attackers such as Walters.
Additionally, only three teams scored fewer goals than Burnley’s 39 last season, while they were also ranked 17th for big chances, with just 38.
Walters is unlikely to earn much consideration at the start of the season, while he’s going to have to prove he is a better option than Brady, whose underlying statistics were far more impressive last term and who also benefits from a share of set-piece duties.
But with some out of position potential, particularly if Gray departs as has been rumoured, Walters is worth keeping an eye on through pre-season and the early weeks of the campaign, although he has a lot to prove given his decline in recent seasons.
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