Hjalmar Ekdal out: The 4 Burnley FC players surely eyeing an early January exit | OneFootball

With such a bloated squad, these four Burnley players could be eyeing up January exits

While the main focus of Burnley's January transfer window plans will undoubtedly be on incomings with the club in the midst of a promotion push, there will also be players eyeing up moves away.

Owing to a bloated squad, first-team football has been hard to come by for some players and Scott Parker will know all too well that it's a thankless task to keep his entire squad happy.

Even so, Burnley have used more players this season than any other Championship team (32), and while that would suggest Parker has been fair in his rotation, ten of those used players no longer play for the club after an August exodus.

Most of those who departed have gone on to find regular football elsewhere, so the current crop of wantaway stars could look to those summer movers when deciding what January holds for them.

Here, we identify four players who could be looking for an early January move...

Shurandy Sambo

Dutch right back Shurandy Sambo only joined the Clarets in the summer, but he's failed to make any kind of meaningful impact at Turf Moor and looks set to depart in January if the chance arises.

According to Dutch news outlet Eindhovens Dagblad, he's attracting interest from FC Utrecht and Sparta Rotterdam, so a move back to the Netherlands would appear likely in January.

For Burnley, the ideal scenario would be that he moves on loan to bring an end to the whole sorry scenario of his failed signing, but right now, a loan move appears to be more likely.

Hjalmar Ekdal

Another defender who is firmly out-of-favour at Turf Moor is Hjalmar Ekdal who, although has had a torrid time with injuries, hasn't been selected even when he has been fit, as he is currently.

Ekdal has been in and around the squad in recent times, spending most of December as an unused substitute, and probably ranks as fifth choice to Scott Parker.

CJ Egan-Riley, Maxime Esteve, John Egan and Joe Worrall have all been used ahead of the Swede in recent weeks, so he'll undoubtedly be growing restless at his lack of football.

Han Noah Massengo

Simply appearing in a matchday squad would be a start for Han Noah Massengo, whose absence throughout most of the season has been largely unexplained.

He's well down the midfield pecking order, but he did make a host of substitute appearances near the start of the season, and it was believed he would make serious play for a starting spot this season.

It hasn't worked out that way though, and it's hard to see him sticking around too much longer to simply watch on from the sidelines.

Signed on a free transfer two summers ago, Burnley would perhaps be happy just to get his wages off the books.

Enock Agyei certainly isn't a household name at Turf Moor, but he has appeared for the first team this season off the bench, and the promising youngster could depart in January in search of some regular minutes.

Signed almost two years ago from Anderlecht, much was expected for Agyei, but a bad injury set him back almost a year, so Burnley fans haven't yet had a proper chance to see what he has to offer.