Zian Flemming admits he no longer feels like a “guest” in the Premier League following his impressive debut campaign.
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Monchi addresses his Burnley involvement alongside Espanyol sporting director ro...](https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/monchi-addresses-his-burnley-involvement-alongside-espanyol-sporting-director-role-8641185 "Monchi addresses his Burnley involvement alongside Espanyol sporting director role")
While it was another season to forget in the top flight for Burnley, the Dutchman enjoyed a successful year on a personal level.
Arriving in the Premier League relatively late at the age of 27, Flemming insists just a single goal – or even a single appearance – would have made his dream become a reality.
But as it turned out, the former Millwall man ended the campaign with 11 Premier League goals to his name.
To make the forward’s achievement all the more impressive, his 11-goal haul came from just 21 starts.
His form for a relegated side has prompted inevitable speculation that Flemming could move on from Turf Moor this summer amid anticipated interest from Premier League sides.
“For me, at the beginning, I was very grateful and happy to just be in the Premier League,” he told Burnley’s Keeping The Faith documentary on X.
Flemming finishes the season with 11 Premier League goals to his name. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Flemming finishes the season with 11 Premier League goals to his name. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
“But then throughout the season, I could just feel as if I wasn't a guest in the Premier League anymore. I felt like: ‘hey, I'm growing into something, you know? I am really becoming a proper Premier League player’.
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“As soon as I found out that my 10th Premier League goal this season was also going to be my 100th career goal, at the same time, I was like: ‘this has to happen now’.
“When that ball then went in [against Aston Villa] and I knew I've actually now got 10 Premier League goals, I had to take a minute when I walked back to the halfway line. I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t imagine that I would ever be able to do this in my career.”
Flemming added: “I think there's a lot of players, including me, who probably dream of playing one Premier League game and then maybe scoring one Premier League goal.
“I don't think anyone would have imagined me scoring that many goals, so I'm obviously very proud of that.
“I can say, despite the fact that we're going down, everyone obviously understands that disappointment, but I wouldn't have expected that either myself.
“I'm happy with this number, it's something that probably later on in life you'll look back on and be like: ‘wow, that's not something many players have been able to do’, or maybe many players have done, but if you look at the names that have done it, it's not a usual thing to do.”
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