Last week, Championship winners Burnley secured the services of Liverpool defender Jon Flanagan on a season-long loan. The 23 year-old full-back has struggled with injury over the past few years, so the Reds will hope he can get plenty of minutes under his belt this time around, helping increase his chances of building a long-term future at Anfield.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Flanagan expressed the importance of establishing himself as a regular, having seen his career stall over the past few years:
“I’ve had a frustrating two years and got back for the second half of last season, which was good. My aim now is to get as many games as possible and get back to the fitness levels I had in 2013/14. I have been out a long time and I need to get back to that level, which means getting a consistent run of games.”
The History
Flanagan is a product of Liverpool’s academy, and having made his debut for the reserves in 2010, was handed a professional debut in a 3-0 victory over Man City in April 2011. The defender made six further league appearances in 2010/11, before featuring five times in the Premier League the following season.
Injuries prevented Flanagan from playing any part of 2012/13, but the youngster established himself as a regular starter under Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers for the first time in the subsequent campaign. In 23 Premier League appearances, Flanagan scored one goal and registered two assists, as the Reds went toe-to-toe with Man City for the title, before eventually finishing second.
A series of knee injuries meant Flanagan missed the whole of the 2014/15 campaign, before returning to action at the start of this year. He featured in five Premier League matches, picking up one assist, and also played three outings in the domestic cups.
Flanagan represented England at Under 19, 20 and 21 levels, making five appearances, before being called up as a reserve for the senior side ahead of the 2014 World Cup. He made his debut as a substitute against Ecuador in June 2014, but failed to make the cut for the final squad.
The Prospects
Versatile enough to play on either side of Sean Dyche’s back-four, Flanagan is expected to challenge Matt Lowton for the right-back berth, given that centre-half Ben Mee offers back-up to Stephen Ward on the opposite flank.
Lowton nailed down a regular starting spot from December onwards last term, having began the campaign in the treatment room, and could get the nod for the season opener if Dyche shows a degree of loyalty to the former Aston Villa defender. There’s also the issue of Flanagan only having around a week’s training with his team-mates ahead of Saturday’s home clash against Swansea, although as the season unfolds, there’d be no surprise to see the new boy establish himself ahead of Lowton in the pecking order – providing he can steer clear of the treatment room, of course.
Comparing the pair’s underlying statistics, along with those left-back Ward, the latter offered the strongest goal threat last term, averaging a shot attempt every 231.3 minutes, compared to every 453.6 minutes for Lowton, while Flanagan didn’t register a goal attempt in his five league appearances last season. During 2013/14, when Flanagan was a first-team regular, he averaged a shot every 281.3 minutes.
Ward again led the way in terms of creativity, producing a key pass every 104.1 minutes last term, better than Lowton (126), with Flanagan (218.5 minutes) again trailing the pair. He did create a chance every 151.5 minutes in 2013/14, though.
When it came to defensive work, Lowton held the edge over Ward for both successful tackles (one every 39.8 minutes compared to every 54.8 minutes for Ward) and interceptions (one every 29.8 minutes compared to every 40 minutes for Ward) last season. Flanagan, meanwhile, won a tackle every 48.6 minutes last term, and also registered an interception every 48.6 minutes. Lowton may hold a slight edge in terms of CBI, then, which would boost his bonus point potential should he nail down a regular starting berth.
All three players are priced at 4.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), but with Ward missing Burnley’s final pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad due to a minor injury, and with some doubt as to who will start at right-back, goalkeeper Tom Heaton (4.5) and centre-back Michael Keane (5.0) look the choice routes into the Clarets’ rearguard as we finalise our initial 15-man squads.
Heaton’s propensity for picking up save points meant he finished the 2014/15 campaign as second top scoring keeper in FPL, despite the Clarets’ relegation. If you’re willing to invest more, though, Keane could be worth the extra outlay – the centre-half scored five times in 2015/16 and produced an eye-catching 34 attempts on goal on Burnley’s way to the title.
A look at the schedule offers hope that Dyche’s side could offer us some decent budget options in the short-term – the Clarets are the only team to face four home matches (SWA, LIV, HUL, WAT) in the opening six Gameweeks, while they kept an impressive 20 clean sheets on their way to the Championship title last season, second only to Middlesbrough (22).
