Burnley faced Leicester City in their fist game of the 2020/21 season and although Sean Dyche's side lost, there were some positives to take, including the performance of Jimmy Dunne.

The young Irishman partnered his national companion Kevin Long as both Ben Mee and James Tarkowski missed the game through injury.

  • Player performance

It was always going to be tough for Dunne, after all he was making his Premier League debut against the former champions. The 22-year-old won nine of his 11 duels, with seven of those being aerial. Dunne also didn't lose a battle in the air, proving that this is one of his strengths. The central-defender also made two interceptions and three recoveries.

His passing play was also impressive. Leicester had most of the possession meaning the centre-halves made fewer passes, therefore his 16 of 25 accurate passes and 64% are a good showing of his ability to play out the back. 

The goal, although it wasn't a beautiful finish, was important for Dunne himself. A Dwight McNeil cross was floated into the far post where it bounced off the back of his shoulder. His expression when the goal went in was a good sight for the fans, the mixture of determination and pride showed what playing and scoring for Burnley meant to him.

  • For the future

Dunne has featured in both of The Clarets' competitive fixtures this season and has the chance to seize the opportunity given to him. Going forward Dunne could have the chance to become one of Burnley's starting centre-halves. Mee is not getting any younger and Tarkowski has been linked with a move away for a while.

At 22 Dunne has plenty of time to progress and the positive signs are there, Ben Gibson, who was signed for a record fee by Burnley, has struggled to get himself into the squad with Dunne seemingly being preferred. He hasn't given a bad account of himself and will look to continue his claim for a first-team position. 

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