Burnley FC player set for top-flight move after QPR, Stoke City and Rangers links | OneFootball

QPR, Stoke City and Rangers had been linked with Burnley defender Hjalmar Ekdal, but he is set to join Dutch side Groningen.

Burnley defender Hjalmar Ekdal is reportedly set to leave the club to join Dutch side Groningen on loan.

That's according to Swedish outlet Expressen, who claim that Ekdal will make a loan move to Groningen until the end of the season, but they will not have the option to buy the 26-year-old in the summer.

Ekdal joined Burnley from Djurgardens in January 2023 for a fee believed to be in the region of £2.4 million, and he made nine appearances in the second half of the 2022-23 season as the Clarets won the Championship title under Vincent Kompany.

However, Ekdal found his game time incredibly limited in the Premier League last season, and he has missed much of this campaign after suffering a serious hamstring injury while on international duty with Sweden in the summer.

Ekdal has made just one appearance for Scott Parker's side this season as a substitute in their 3-1 win at Reading in the FA Cup earlier this month, and with little chance of him being able to force his way into the team, he now looks set to be on the move.

QPR, Stoke City and Rangers set for Hjalmar Ekdal frustration

Burnley have incredibly conceded just nine league goals this season, with Maxime Esteve and CJ Egan-Riley forming a solid centre-back partnership, while Joe Worrall and John Egan have acted as back-up to the pair, pushing Ekdal down the pecking order.

Ekdal's exit from Turf Moor had been on the cards for some time, with Clarets head coach Scott Parker admitting that he and team-mate Hannes Delcroix could both depart due to their lack of minutes this season.

When asked if Ekdal and Delcroix could benefit from loan moves in January, Parker told the Burnley Express: "There may be an option there, yes.

"I mean, both players really have got the quality to play football. They are both very, very good football players.

"From my position, of course I'd love to keep them here and be part of things. But I also understand what stage they’re at and whether game time is a big thing for them, which I'm sure it is.

"They want to try and play some minutes and it's a position in our squad that we are pretty stacked in terms of defenders, so there may be an option there."

Ekdal has been linked with a number of clubs in recent weeks, with Championship duo Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City said to have been keen, along with Italian outfits Empoli and Sampdoria and Scottish giants Rangers.

However, with regular game time said to be his priority, Ekdal has turned down interest from England and Italy to make the move to Groningen, who currently sit 15th in the Eredivisie table, just three points clear of the relegation play-off place.

Hjalmar Ekdal could still have a future at Burnley

With Esteve, Egan-Riley, Worrall and Egan all ahead of him currently, it makes sense for Ekdal to leave Burnley on loan this month, but it does not necessarily mean that his Turf Moor career is over.

It is interesting that the Clarets have not included an option for Groningen to buy Ekdal at the end of his loan spell, and Parker's positive comments about the defender suggest that he does rate him highly.

Ekdal only has to look at Egan-Riley, who has become a key part of the team after previously being frozen out under Kompany, to see how quickly fortunes can change in football, but he will need to impress during his time in Eredivisie if he is to break into Parker's team next season.