'Dragging on': Burnley boss Scott Parker discusses Josh Brownhill's future and star player exits
Three weeks out from the start of Burnley’s season, Josh Brownhill is still to decide what his next steps are.
The 29-year-old is officially a free agent after his contract with the Clarets expired at the end of June.
The Clarets have offered their club captain from last season a new and improved deal to remain at Turf Moor, but there’s been no announcement either way on Brownhill’s future.
In the meantime, Brownhill has been removed from Burnley’s squad profiles on the club’s official website while he repeatedly posts clips on his Instagram account training alone to maintain his fitness.
Speaking after Saturday’s 2-0 pre-season friendly win over Huddersfield Town, Parker remained tight-lipped on the subject.
When asked if the club has moved on from Brownhill, Parker told the Burnley Express: “I'm not sure, but obviously it's dragging on a little bit now.
“I'm not 100 per cent sure exactly where that is. My full focus has been on the team and the current players here really, so we'll see.”
Not only was Brownhill Burnley’s captain last season, he also bagged 18 goals from midfield to help Parker’s side win promotion back to the Premier League.
Confirmation that Brownhill is moving on would come as a big blow to the Clarets, given they’ve already lost CJ Egan-Riley on a free transfer to Marseille.
The defender, one of the stars of Burnley’s 100-point Championship campaign, snubbed the offer of a new deal to remain at Turf Moor to make the switch to France.
Elsewhere, record-breaking goalkeeper James Trafford also appears to be on his way out, with Manchester City reportedly set to beat Newcastle United to his signature.
Asked about the frustration of losing his best players from last season, Parker replied: “Of course. Obviously last year with Brownhill as well, CJ and maybe now Traff…
“Of course you want to try and keep the nucleus of the squad together and certainly those players, with what we did…
“But this is football sometimes and we'll get to where we need to get to again with a lot of hard work, just like we did last year.”