Manchester-born teenager Joel Senior has signed for Premier League club Burnley after spending the majority of his career in non-league football. The 19-year-old right-back, who began his youth career at Oldham Athletic, was released and subsequently played for a host of semi-professional Manchester clubs including Maine Road, FC United of Manchester, and Curzon Ashton.
Senior impressed during a trial with Burnley's under-23 squad and made the substitute bench for the Lancashire FA Senior Cup final. He has now earned a 12-month contract with an option for an additional year and will join the Clarets' under-23 team, who play their home matches at Curzon Ashton's Tameside Stadium.
"I'm delighted. It's been a long time coming," Senior told Burnley's official website. "I've been working hard for it for the last three or four years and it's finally happened. Burnley have put their trust in me, and I'm delighted to be here."
Senior will report for pre-season training at Burnley's Barnfield Training Centre in July, a significant step up from the facilities he experienced in non-league. "It's everything a player could want here and perfect for me to fulfil my potential," he said. "Compared to where I've been it's completely different, but it's what I need to develop my game."
He added: "I want to come in for pre-season fully fit and be ready to get into the under-23s team and who knows where you can go from there? I've got to work hard and that starts now."
