Burnley FC would no doubt love to repeat Man Utd deal in January | OneFootball

With the January transfer window looming, Burnley will be hoping to emulate finding a diamond in the rough like they did a decade ago.

The January transfer window is about to arrive right on cue to add further drama to this season's race for the Premier League.

After a disappointing campaign last year which saw them finish 19th and immediately dumped out of the top flight, Burnley will be hoping their strong start to the 2024/25 campaign will put them in a solid position to chase down automatic promotion at the end of the season.

Despite losing Vincent Kompany to Bundesliga title-chasers Bayern Munich over the summer, the appointment of Scott Parker has been so-far-so-good for the Clarets, who will be searching for a second promotion to the Premier League in three seasons.

January recruitment is going to be crucial for Burnley to propel them towards a return to the top flight, and there's no doubt they would love a repeat of the January transfer window a decade ago. The 2015 window saw them unearth a diamond in the rough following a successful loan period from Manchester United.

Here, Football League World looks at how Michael Keane quickly became a fan favourite at Turf Moor and why the Clarets would love to complete a similar deal to help in their push for promotion.

Michael Keane's pre-Burnley career

Keane came through the iconic youth ranks at Manchester United, first training with the Red Devils at the age of 11 alongside his twin brother Will.

They were part of the infamous team which won the 2011 FA Youth Cup, also included the likes of Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Sam Johnstone. Will even scored two goals over both legs of the final as the Red Devils ran out 6-3 aggregate winners over Sheffield United.

Michael was given his first-team debut by Sir Alex Ferguson a few months later in a League Cup match against Newcastle United. However, he only made a further four appearances for the Red Devils in all competitions and had loan spells at Leicester City, Derby County and Blackburn Rovers before joining Burnley on loan in August 2014.

When his loan spell ended the following January, then-Clarets boss Sean Dyche opted to make the transfer permanent, signing Keane on a three-and-a-half-year deal for a reported £2 million.

Burnley and beyond

Despite the Clarets being relegated at the end of the 2014/15 season, the signing of Keane gave fans optimism of a swift return to the top flight, especially after he scored three times in Burnley's first five matches. He would go on to play all but two of Burnley's league games in their title-winning season, scoring another two goals, keeping 19 clean sheets and conceding 0.72 goals per 90 minutes.

Keane continued his form back into 2016/17 as he helped Burnley stay in the top flight by six points. His solid individual performances for the Clarets, which included his first Premier League goals, earned him his first England cap in March and a nomination for PFA Young Player of the Year at the end of the season.

*Premier League/Championship games only

That summer, Burnley cashed in on Keane's coming-of-age as he joined Everton, signing a five-year deal for an initial £25 million - over 12 times the amount they signed him for. He was reunited with former boss Dyche in January 2023 and is currently contracted to the Toffees until 2025.

Taking past lessons into the future

In the near-decade of Dyche's time at the Clarets, signing Keane was one of the best things he ever did. Not only did Keane quickly mature into one of their strongest players, but the club also made a huge profit off him despite only spending two-and-a-half years at Turf Moor permanently.

Dyche is, of course, no longer at Burnley and the club have jumped between the Premier League and Championship constantly since his dismissal in April 2022. This has coincided with a decline in sensible, Keane-esque incomings at the club.

Dutch striker Wout Weghorst is a prime example of this. Dyche initially signed him for £12 million in January of that ill-fated 2021/22 season to reinforce his goalscoring options following Chris Wood's departure. After just 22 appearances for the Clarets and three loan spells away from Turf Moor (including to Manchester United), Scott Parker sold him to Ajax in the summer. Although the fee was undisclosed, MailSport reported it was "significantly below" £4.2m - a loss of nearly two-thirds of his original price tag.

With the January transfer window once again holding significant importance to the Clarets' fate this season, Parker should call on the ghost of transfer windows past and explore young options with bags of potential, just like Burnley did a decade ago with Michael Keane.

Taking lessons from the past and into the future will go a long way in helping them push for yet another promotion to the Premier League.