Burnley FC: Sean Dyche's unique cooking play to Joey Barton paid off in a big way | OneFootball

Sean Dyche's unique recruitment methods helped secure one of the club's most influential signings in recent history

While Joey Barton is a name that splits opinion across the footballing community, there's certainly no doubting which camp most Burnley fans have their foot in when considering on-field performances.

Although he's certainly a controversial figure off the field, the Clarets reaped the ultimate benefits on the pitch when Barton signed for Burnley in 2015 after his release from QPR.

Barton's signing almost a decade ago as certainly a real coup at the time in the Championship, as although the Manchester City academy graduate was 32 at the time, there was a feeling that he still had his best years ahead of him as he was showing signs of finally settling down.

Off-field headlines followed Barton wherever he went in the infancy of his career, as he served a prison sentence whilst playing for Newcastle United, but he did mellow later in his career and Burnley reaped the benefits of that.

Seeing Barton play for the Turf Moor outfit would've been nothing more than a pipe dream back in the heyday of his career, but fans have Sean Dyche's unique cooking play to thank for getting the chance to see him play in claret and blue.

Dyche cooked up an omelette before Barton signed

Persuading players to sign for Burnley back in 2015 was difficult, having just been relegated from the Premier League, but Dyche showcased his culinary skills to help recruit Barton, cooking him up an omelette when the pair met before hen signed.

The former midfielder described that meeting as "one of the few meetings I have ever had with a football manager that not only has he delivered on his word but has gone above and beyond it" and the pair remain in touch to this day, after Barton himself went down the managerial path.

That was a real key signing for Burnley in the 2015/16 season as they were promoted straight back to the top flight, and although he may not have been the man scoring 20 goals or keeping 20 clean sheets, he was instrumental in their success.

At that time, the Clarets were really short of options in central midfield, so adding Barton to the ranks was timely, and once he was up to speed, he slotted straight in and never came back out.

His presence and aura in the centre of the park was often enough to drag Burnley through games, and his game management in those tight one-goal wins was a sight to behold, so it was something of a surprise when he left for Rangers at the end of the season.

Barton's homecoming was extra special

Barton re-signed for the club in January 2017 after his Rangers move didn't work out, but he returned with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over his head after the FA had charged him for placing 1260 football bets over a 10-year period.

Despite that charge, Barton continued playing in the meantime, and amid trial postponements, he was able to get a longer stretch of game time than he'd probably initially hoped for.

His Turf Moor homecoming was the stuff of fairytales as he scored the winner in a 1-0 win against Southampton, which at the time was a huge win in Burnley's battle to beat the drop.

He was actually able to play all the way up until the end of April when he was hit with an 18-month ban, which curtailed his Clarets career, but that was only able to get lift-off in the first place because of the impression Dyche made on his over an omelette.

Ultimately, it was Barton who played a huge part in getting Burnley back into the Premier League and helped keep them there, which gave them the platform to get into Europe the following season.