Joey Barton has taken the first steps towards resuming his football career.
After five top tier appearances for Sevco the 34-year-old has taken his rumoured £1m pay off back down the M74 and has started training with Burnley- the club he left six months ago.
If all goes well Barton could be playing in the Premier League again in January after a brief and very lucrative visit to Ibrox.
Speaking to the Burnley Express today Sean Dyche revealed: “Joey has been in with us training, with us, to get himself fit, not with the first team.
“Beyond that, anything else is for the future, he’s just getting himself fit.”
While Barton plays down the significance of Barton training at the club a return after a six month break seems very likely.
The offer of a lucrative two year contract at Ibrox had obvious appeal but after being unable to join his new team-mates for pre-season training due to a criminal conviction Barton struggled to adapt to training and playing alongside the likes of Andy Halliday and Jason Holt.
Following the 5-1 hammering from Celtic on September 10 things spilled over in training with reports of a clash with Halliday and Mark Warburton.
Although he was never fined for the incident Barton was suspended and never played for the club again despite being Warbo’s key summer signing.
Sevco hold their fifth ever AGM tomorrow but it’s unlikely that any questions will be asked about the cash spent on Barton.
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