Zian Flemming makes 'special' Burnley admission amid transfer talk

Zian Flemming admits Burnley will always hold a “special” place in his heart for giving him the platform to realise his Premier League dream.

At 27, the forward was a relatively later arrival to the top flight, having had to work his way up through the Dutch divisions before his move to the Championship with Millwall in 2022.

After helping fire the Clarets to promotion under Scott Parker, Flemming was then able to finally rub shoulders with the elite last season.

While it was a miserable campaign for Burnley, who suffered relegation with just 22 points to their name, Flemming proved he belongs at that level, scoring 11 goals in 21 starts.

It’s led to inevitable speculation linking the Dutchman with a move away this summer,

Whatever transpires between now and August, Flemming has made it clear the affection for which he holds for Burnley.

“The two years that I’ve been here now, the connect with the club and with the fans - the longer that you’re there, the stronger that bond grows,” he told the club’s Keeping The Faith documentary.

“This is the place where my dream came true, so that’s always going to be special.

“You never know what kind of emotions you will feel in the exact moment for the final whistle. It would probably be a bit of relief that the season is over, but I hope there is a sense of pride because it can be quite hard to be proud of yourself sometimes.

“That’s because you always want to do better, better, better and you always want to do more, more and more.

“Even when you score, you want to stay up. If you score, you want to score more and if you don’t score, you want to score, so that never stops.

“But I hope I will have some space in my head to reflect and think: ‘yeah, regardless of the relegation you’ve done well, so be proud of yourself’. I don’t know if I’ll get that feeling, but I hope so.”