The Lancashire outfit have had to let a number of players leave this summer due to their severely bloated squad, with Dara Costelloe one of the names who has been farmed out once again to try and get regular game time.
Having joined the club from Galway as a teenager, the wide man has featured regularly for the under-23 side, but has found first-team opportunities much harder to come by, with this season’s spell at Accrington Stanley proving to be his fourth loan spell away from the club.
Now at the age of 21, the forward is coming up to a crucial part of his career, and will be wanting to make the most of his opportunity in League Two to convince his current employers that he has a future at Turf Moor.
Dara Costelloe struggles to earn Burnley starts
Costelloe is a player who has regularly found the net for the Clarets’ youth teams during his time in the north-west, but is yet to be given a regular shot at proving himself while in Lancashire.
With Burnley constantly chasing promotion to the Premier League or avoiding relegation once they achieve their goal, there has been a stockpiling of players which makes any sort of breakthrough seem less and less likely as time goes on.
After making a few appearances at the beginning of the 22–23 season, Costelloe must have believed he had a chance to succeed at Turf Moor. However, he was not seen again until November, and Vincent Kompany eventually gave him permission to go on loan to Bradford City, a League Two team.
After an empty spell in Valley Parade, the team moved north of the border for the next campaign, spending time in St Johnstone and Dundee, however again goals were hard to come by.
With just a single strike for the Saints during the 23/24 campaign, and the Clarets able to bring in the likes of Andreas Hountondji, Jaidon Anthony, Jeremy Sarmiento and Zian Flemming to aid their attacking ranks, Costelloe looks to be seeing his Turf Moor future slipping away.
Accrington Stanley spell could prove to be final chance for Dara Costelloe redemption
Having signed a new deal with the club in 2022 of indeterminate length, Costelloe is likely coming to the end of his time with the recently relegated side, and will be looking to make the most of his most recent move away from the club to set him up for the future.
The switch to Accrington Stanley has seen the frontman feature three times so far for the League Two outfit, with those all-elusive goals still proving hard to come by, even with the drop-down in level.
Stanley boss John Doolan was over the moon to get the deal over the line in the summer, stating: “It’s one we have been after for quite a while, it’s a bit of a marquee signing or, as I like to call them, game changers.
“Dara can win a game by himself. He is a top footballer, he sees patterns of play, he sees movements, he has a range of passing, and he has got goals in him.
Dara’s presence here makes me very happy. Burnley has been a huge assistance to me and Ged (Brannan), who have worked very hard on that. He had a few options from which to select, not just from clubs in our league but also from higher levels and abroad, and he decided on us. We are happy to get it approved.”
It remains to be seen if the frontman can live up to the confidence his new manager has placed in him, but after two losses, manager and player will be looking for an improvement in the coming weeks, and the Irishman may be essential to that achievement.
However, Costelloe’s Turf Moor future is also uncertain.
The following nine months will be crucial for his professional development, so he’ll be looking to start strong at WHAM Stadium as soon as possible to boost his confidence ahead of what might be a major season for him.
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