Today brings news of two more former Clarets, players who didn’t make the first team at Turf Moor, having signed for new clubs ahead of the 2023/24 season.

Winger Brad Jackson left Burnley five years ago at the age of 21. He’d come to prominence even before his scholarship when he came on as a substitute in the FA Youth Cup win at Manchester United in 2012 and set up the winning goal for Jason Gilchrist.

During his time at Burnley, he spent time on loan at Bangor and Southport and on his released he signed for Ashton United. He’s since played for both Chester and Altrincham and in the last two seasons has twice been to Buxton on loan.

After a successful loan last season at Buxton, he’s been training with Radcliffe Borough over the last few weeks and has won himself a deal there where he will again play for managers Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley, the new Radcliffe and former Salford managers, who he worked under at Chester.

Central defender Harry Williams had a shorter and more recent association with Burnley than Jackson. Then at West Brom, he played for the under-23s as a trialist in our final home game of the 2020/21 season against Norwich, a game played behind closed doors, and following that, in July two years ago, signed a contract with us.

He wasn’t able to break into the team on anything like a regular basis during that season and that led to his departure last summer after just one year as a Claret. He moved into non-league football with Alvechurch and had a really good season, which included a win in the FA Cup against League One Cheltenham, and that led to him being invited to spend a week training with League Two club Walsall.

During that week, he played in a friendly against Leamington; he played well and that persuaded manager Mat Sadler to bring him back in for further training and a game against Aston Villa.

“I’m really pleased to sign for Walsall,” Williams said. “I’ve had a couple of games and I’ve really enjoyed the training so I’m happy to be here. The lads and the head coach have welcomed me and accepted me straight from the start, it feels like a family club.

“We’ve had two positive results against Leamington and we took that into the game against Aston Vill so hopefully we can build on that momentum and have a successful season. It’s a massive opportunity and I want to develop myself as a player and whatever opportunity I get, I’m going to give my best for the team and the gaffer.”

Sadler, the Saddlers’ gaffer, said of his new signing: “Harry has had a really strong season at Alvechurch. The links we have to the local non-league scene alerted me to him and he’s been with us for the last ten days.

“He’s got a lot of ability and it’s a fantastic opportunity for him and for us to have him in the building. Not only has he earned a contract, he’s really improved and shown he can cope with the levels that we train at and he impacts the training sessions. He’s desperate to get better and that’s the mentality we want at the football club.”