Whilst the clock ticks down to Saturday’s huge Championship playoff final to decide who the final Premier League team will be ahead of next season, Burnley are already sat at the top-flight table.
Scott Parker’s Clarets would resoundingly finish inside the top two positions alongside Daniel Farke’s Leeds United, meaning any stress that inevitably comes from a big day out to Wembley hasn’t been felt by the Lancashire outfit whatsoever.
Instead, Burnley are filled with anxiety now about a number of their star Championship performers moving on this off-season, with standout defensive star CJ Egan-Riley already reportedly off to France.
The latest on CJ Egan-Riley's future
Unfortunately, these are the pitfalls that come with success, with a lot of Burnley’s imperious defenders now being eyed up by far-off suitors.
Reports are suggesting that Egan-Riley, who contributed to a bumper 26 clean sheets, has agreed a deal to join Liam Rosenior’s RC Strasbourg, with his out-of-contract situation no doubt irking Clarets fans after such a superb season in the second tier.
The unwanted misery doesn’t stop there with James Trafford also routinely linked with a move to the likes of Newcastle United, on top of Josh Brownhill being chased by Everton and West Ham United after chipping in with 18 league strikes in attack.
Of course, both Trafford and Brownhill might not follow Egan-Riley out of the door, but there is another notable face being touted with a switch away that will further iritate Clarets supporters considering he could go on to become the club’s next Ben Mee when climbing up a division.
Burnley's new version of Ben Mee
Amazingly, Mee has still been shining in the Premier League for Brentford three years on from his Turf Moor departure.
Whilst he did reaffirm his status as a reliable centre-back option with the Bees, he really did come into his own donning a Clarets jersey, away from lining up here and there for Thomas Frank’s men, with Mee going on to make a ridiculous 376 appearances over more than a decade.
Maxime Esteve will hope he can follow in Mee’s footsteps if he stays put with Parker’s side, with the Frenchman definitely capable of having a prolonged career in the Premier League like the 35-year-old, judging by his sterling Championship numbers.
Much like Mee during Burnley’s second tier title winning heroics back in the 2015/16 season, the “unbelievable” 22-year-old – as he was labelled by Parker – was an everpresent part of the Clarets’ formidable defence as promotion was won, with the Montpellier-born centre-back now ready for what awaits him in the top-flight with or without his current employers.
Games played
46
Goals scored
1
Assists
0
Touches*
78.0
Accurate passes*
60.5 (91%)
Ball recoveries*
3.7
Clearances*
5.0
Total duels won*
3.6
Clean sheets
30
It’s clear from the table above that Esteve excels both as a battler for Parker’s side but also as a comfortable operator of the ball, with a steep 30 clean sheets won, on top of also averaging 78 touches as a confident figure playing out from the back.
Mee operated in much the same vein for Burnley during only his second campaign at the daunting level, with the now-experienced defender finishing his 2016/17 season with nine clean sheets next to his name from 30 league contests, alongside also averaging 50.7 touches as a composed body.
It will be intriguing to see if Esteve wants to stick it out at Turf Moor to be held in the same high esteem as Mee, therefore. After all, he’s reportedly wanted by Crystal Palace and the temptation of moving on to Oliver Glasner’s FA Cup-winning side may prove to be too strong a pull.
Either way, Burnley are in a worrying state of limbo at the moment as to what their team will look like ahead of top-flight football returning to Turf Moor, with plenty of fingers crossed that Esteve becomes part of the furniture over being known as a fleeting promotion winner.
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