Burnley's Quilindschy Hartman makes transfer admission amid Espanyol links

Quilindschy Hartman has confirmed he intends to leave Burnley this summer.

The 24-year-old has endured a mixed debut campaign at Turf Moor, following last summer’s move from Feyenoord.

Despite topping Burnley’s assists charts from left back, the Dutchman was in and out of Scott Parker’s side as the Clarets suffered relegation back to the Championship.

Hartman has been linked with a move to Burnley’s ‘sister’ club Espanyol, whose sporting director Monchi recently admitted he’s a player they admire.

Whether he makes the move to Spain or elsewhere, it’s looking increasingly likely he won’t be turning out for Burnley in the Championship next season.

“I don’t know that officially yet, but the plan is for me to leave”, he told Dutch outlet De Oranjezomer. “I just don’t know where I’m going yet.

“I'm not saying I necessarily want to leave England, but I am open to other countries.”

While Hartman made 23 appearances in league and cup for Burnley last season, it’s fair to say his move to England hasn’t played out as planned thus far.

He started the campaign well, but he was dropped in December following a run of poor performances, which came to a head against Fulham when he was publicly criticised by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp, who accused him of showing a lack of effort.

He was subsequently left out of Scott Parker’s match day squads altogether for a few weeks, before slowly being re-integrated back into the setup.

The defender returned to the starting XI for the 0-0 draw against Bournemouth in March and made another five appearances, but was again dropped for the final three games of the season as Lucas Pires returned.

Hartman made it publicly clear when he joined Burnley that he was using the club as a stepping stone to a “bigger” Premier League side.

But during Hartman’s interview with De Oranjezomer, the Dutchman didn’t exactly speak about English football in particularly glowing terms.

When asked if he’s been impressed by the Premier League, Hartman replied: “It might be a bit wrong to say that it isn’t the case when you’ve been relegated, that might not make any sense.

“But technically, it’s not a very high level. It’s just that the ball moves up and down so fast.

“You have to be physically so strong, otherwise you can’t compete.

“It's not that I enjoyed the matches, but that might also be due to the way we played, so maybe it would be different at another team.”