Burnley FC became transfer middle-man after Middlesbrough capture | OneFootball

Jelle Vossen's Turf Moor stay was a short one amid some interesting circumstances around his arrival and swift departure

The curious case of Jelle Vossen is one that still puzzles Burnley fans to this day, as they found themselves caught up in a peculiar transfer move in which they played the role of middle-man.

Vossen's stay at Turf Moor was mercifully short as he both came and went in the same window, but it was the circumstances surrounding the move that not only stoked debate in England, but in Belgium, as the two clubs who dealt with Burnley were Belgian.

After being relegated from the top-flight in 2015, Burnley dropped back into the Championship, and having lost Danny Ings to Liverpool, were desperately in need of a striker.

Sean Dyche decided Jelle Vossen was that man was Vossen, and he spent a reported €3.5m on the Belgian frontman, who had impressed whilst on loan at Middlesbrough the season prior, helping Boro reach the play-off final.

Never in Dyche's wildest dreams could he have predicted what came next, as Vossen came and went under a cloud inside the same window, with football politics perhaps playing a role in his swift arrival and departure.

Vossen signed for Burnley with Championship pedigree

Vossen was a sure-fire bet for Burnley in the Championship - he was a low-risk financial investment and someone who had proved he could cut it in the second tier the season prior when he scored seven goals and laid on three assists as Middlesbrough reached Wembley.

The chance to see Vossen play in England was something that would've appealed to Dyche, who not long before signing him from Genk, had said that he likes to conduct extensive background checks on any signings he makes.

Dyche didn't miscalculate any signings on the level he did this one, as despite presumably running those same checks on a man he signed around eight months after those comments, he must've missed the fact that Vossen reportedly had family issues.

Vossen actually only played four times in the Championship for Burnley in 2015/16 before leaving, citing a fresh marriage and a young family.

After his swift departure was announced, Vossen said: "I am very sorry for the fans of Burnley. The move to England on a permanent basis has been tough for me, mostly for family reasons.

“My wife and I were married this summer and immediately have had to leave family and friends behind.

“I had no problems at Burnley or with the people and fans at the club, who made me feel very welcome and for which I thank them.

“However, after discussing things with my family, I feel it is better to make the move now, for the benefit of both parties. I would like to wish Burnley Football Club every success in the future.”

Whether Dyche genuinely believed that or not will never be known, but from an observatory point of view, it does seem hard to believe a man who'd just spent a year in the country became home sick after a matter of months in a new place within the same country.

Football politics could've played a role in Vossen's return to Belgium

Here's where it gets rather complicated though.

After a successful loan spell at Middlesbrough, Vossen wasn't short of suitors when he returned to Genk, and one of those clubs were Club Brugge.

Genk weren't keen on selling to a rival though, thus sold him to Burnley, so you can only imagine how Genk would've felt when they found out that a matter of weeks after thinking they'd pulled off a blinder, Burnleysold him to Club Brugge after all.

It had a football politics feel to it, but it's not overly clear what was in the deal for Burnley, who Transfermarkt estimate made precious little profit out of the deal.

It almost feels as though that was the plan all along, for Vossen to join another club in England, whom he had no attachments to after his spell at Boro, stay for a short period but get the actual move he wanted in the same window.

Few people will know whether that was actually the case, but Vossen went on to have a great career anyway, playing and scoring in the Champions League with Club Brugge.