Obafemi? The 5 Burnley players that need to prove a point in pre-season or risk 2024/25 axe | OneFootball

There are plenty of players at Turf Moor who could either find their game time limited next term or be offloaded by the Clarets.

Burnley are in fairly good shape ahead of the new season.

They may not have a manager in place at the moment, but the Clarets have a very decent squad at their disposal, with Maxime Esteve and Mike Tresor joining the club permanently.

Jay Rodriguez will also be staying at the club after signing a new contract - and so will Josh Brownhill and Bailey Peacock Farrell after having one-year extension options triggered in their deals.

Keeping Brownhill could be crucial for the Lancashire club, who are likely to benefit from the midfielder's presence if he remains at Turf Moor beyond the end of the summer transfer window.

Speaking of the summer window, they may not have a huge amount to do in the transfer market, even if there are a couple of areas they need to strengthen in the coming weeks.

The first thing Vincent Kompany's successor needs to do is assess his current squad, to see who should be retained, sold or loaned out.

Below, we take a look at five players who could be at risk of being omitted from the squad or even offloaded if they fail to shine at Turf Moor this pre-season.

Bailey Peacock-Farrell

Peacock-Farrell is currently in competition with James Trafford and Arijanet Muric for a starting place in Lancashire, which isn't ideal for the Northern Irishman in his likely quest to win regular game time.

With a new manager coming in though, that could give the stopper the opportunity to prove why he should be heavily involved for the Clarets next term.

Trafford, who has recently been heavily linked with a move to Newcastle United, could leave. But unless Peacock-Farrell does well in pre-season, he may face the axe.

Luke McNally

McNally faces a considerable amount of competition for a starting place at centre-back.

Maxime Esteve and Jordan Beyer may be two of the first names on the teamsheet next term, with the likes of Dara O'Shea, Hjalmar Ekdal and Ameen Al-Dakhil also available as options.

With this in mind, McNally's future looks bleak, although he could be given hope if there are some departures in central defence.

He has a decent amount of Championship experience under his belt and will be raring to go after his loan spell at Stoke City, but that may not be enough to keep him at Turf Moor beyond the end of the summer window if he doesn't stand out.

Another loan deal could be on the horizon for the player - or a permanent exit may even be a possibility.

Samuel Bastien

Bastien, like Peacock Farrell and McNally, was loaned out by the Clarets last term and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him offloaded for good this summer, with his contract expiring next summer.

Jack Cork may have been released, but there are plenty of other midfield options at Turf Moor and the board may be encouraging the new manager to give Han-Noah Massengo a real chance to shine next term, with the Frenchman having a high amount of potential.

Bastien may get an opportunity to shine in pre-season though and if he does, he needs to make the most of it, having failed to make too much of an impact during his time in Lancashire.

Darko Churlinov

Following his arrival in the summer of 2022, Churlinov would have been desperate to thrive under Kompany.

Unfortunately, his game time was limited and when he was given an opportunity to shine, he failed to grasp it with both hands.

The 23-year-old was loaned out to Schalke in January, with the German club having an option to make his move permanent.

However, it was revealed by the Clarets last month that he would be returning to Turf Moor. That will give him a chance to impress in training in the coming weeks, but it may take a lot for him to overtake the likes of Anass Zaroury and Manuel Benson in the pecking order.

There aren't even any guarantees that Zaroury and Benson will feature heavily next term, reinforcing the uphill climb Churlinov faces in his quest to be a success at his current side.

Michael Obafemi

Despite failing to make much of an impact at Millwall last term, Republic of Ireland international Obafemi is a proven player at this level, having previously shone at Swansea City.

And with Wout Weghorst potentially departing this summer, that could give Obafemi the opportunity to be involved at Turf Moor next season.

However, there are no guarantees that he will be heavily involved, with the likes of Rodriguez, Lyle Foster and Zeki Amdouni available as options at this point.

Obafemi will need to earn the right to be involved.