Luke McNally explains Burnley departure for Stoke City loan as Coventry admission made

The defender has moved to the Potters for the Championship season

Burnley defender Luke McNally has joined Championship side Stoke City on loan for the upcoming season.

The 23-year-old central defender joined the Clarets last summer from Oxford United. He made four appearances during the first half of last season as he struggled for game time at Turf Moor.

The defender headed out on loan for the second half of the season and moved to Coventry City. He became a regular starter for the Sky Blues as they reached the Championship play-off final, turning out 22 times for Mark Robins’ side.

McNally had been expected to be on the move again this summer, thanks to intense competition in the heart of defence at Burnley. The Clarets have turned Jordan Beyer’s loan into a permanent deal and also signed Dara O’Shea from West Bromwich Albion.

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January signings Hjalmar Ekdal and Ameen Al-Dakhil are also ahead of McNally in the pecking order, and has meant the defender has moved away from the Clarets temporarily to pick up valuable game time. That will be with the Potters for the upcoming campaign.

Discussing why he has made the move to the bet365 Stadium, McNally was convinced of Stoke’s credentials by boss Alex Neil, whom he has been impressed with when coming up against the Scot’s sides as the opposition. He played against Stoke for Coventry last season and made a reference to the 4-0 loss at the hands of the Potters the Sky Blues suffered in April as evidence of why he has joined..

McNally told Stoke’s website: “The manager fills me with belief that he will help me to develop as a player and that the trajectory of the Club is going in the right direction.

“I have been really impressed coming up against his teams, especially in the game against Stoke, which was the toughest match I had last season.

“I enjoy the tactical aspect of games and I could tell that lots of detail had gone in to how Stoke set up to hurt Coventry that day.

“The scope is massive here, it is a really good opportunity for me and I believe, with the squad that is being built, that we can achieve great things.”