Clarets in Given link
I suppose it is no surprise. With Burnley collecting Republic of Ireland internationals these days and potentially on the lookout for an experienced back up goalkeeper, former international Shay Given has been linked with us over the weekend.
One of the big questions of the last week has been the whereabouts of Paul Robinson who deputised on three occasions last season for Tom Heaton in the Premier League. Robinson has been with us for just over a year and was offered a new one year deal at the end of last season.
He’s still listed by the club as a player but there appear to have been no sightings of him and he wasn’t in Ireland last week with the squad when Heaton, Nick Pope and Conor Mitchell were the three keepers.
By the end of last season things had switched. Pope had become second in line and took his place on the bench while Robinson occupied a seat at the back of the Longside for home games. There was speculation about Pope last week with a supposed imminent transfer to Bristol City surfacing. On the following day he featured for Burnley and that seems to have died down.
But with Mitchell the only other cover, it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see us bring in another keeper should Robinson have disappeared permanently and thus the link with Given, himself another former Blackburn player.
He’s now 41 years old and is certainly vastly experienced. Having started his career at Ewood, for whom he played just twice, he enjoyed loans at Swindon and Sunderland. The Mackems were keen to take him permanently but Blackburn wouldn’t sell at the time although a year later did sell him to the North East club’s fierce rivals Newcastle where he spent 12 years.
Since, he’s played for Manchester city, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Stoke while also collecting 134 Republic of Ireland caps along the way. He left Stoke at the end of last season has started his pre-season with National League club Macclesfield alongside such as Wes Brown and Alex Bruce but has confirmed his keenness to find a league club.
Follow UpTheClarets:Share this page :