IT was a moving performance, a shirtless Middlesbrough fan crying into his webcam, pleading for Jelle Vossen to be freed.

“This is a message to the Genk board, you know he wants to come, you know he wants a parmo,” the supporter sobbed.

“You’re depressing everybody here at the club, we need him, we need Jelle Vossen!”

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The #FreeJelleVossen campaign, started by Middlesbrough fans a year ago in frustration at Genk’s reluctance to allow the Belgian to move to the Riverside, was in full swing on social media.

It was a campaign that was reported on the evening news by an ever so slightly bemused Belgian television station.

Vossen has been big news in Belgium for some time, a highly-rated striker who led Genk’s surprise charge to the Champions League group stage in November 2011 - scoring in a draw against Chelsea, a game where the English headlines were taken by a David Luiz penalty miss.

He made his international debut in 2009 at the age of only 20, for a country now ranked second in the world.

He even has a website, complete with personalised merchandise. You can buy a pen, a ruler, a baseball cap, a rucksack, even a bread box, all embossed with the Jelle Vossen logo.

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A full merchandise pack is available for 50 Euros, although the 20 per cent discount being offered for individual items gives some indication of a player whose own value has dipped in recent times.

Eighteen months ago an offer of 7m Euros plus add-ons was not enough for Russian club Rubin Kazan to prise Vossen away from Genk - double the 3.5m fee that Burnley have now negotiated, perhaps smartly in Euros given the plummeting exchange rates after Greece’s referendum vote.

Vossen scored nine goals last season when he did eventually move to Middlesbrough on loan, netting in the play-off semi finals against Brentford.

There is still the sense though that he is capable of more, that the full goalscoring potential which earned him 12 caps for Belgium – his last came two years ago – is waiting to be rediscovered.

“Jelle is as good a finisher as I’ve worked with,” said Middlesbrough assistant manager Steve Agnew last week. “He’s very accurate in front of goal, especially from the edge of the box.

“Jelle is a top pro who is very dedicated. He’s unselfish, he links up well with his team-mates and is good in the air for a lad who’s not particularly tall.

“I think he’ll always score goals, whatever level he’s playing at.

“He’ll be disappointed with the number of chances he’d have expected to put away last season and didn’t. A lot of it was down to opposition goalkeepers, who always seemed to pull out man of the match performances.”

Vossen became known as ‘The Magician’ at Genk, where his father Rudi had also played. Vossen Jr scored 94 goals in four seasons between 2010 and 2014.

That is why shirtless Middlesbrough fans were crying into their computers a year ago.

Now competitors in the Championship promotion race, Burnley will hope that Vossen can give Middlesbrough a different reason to cry in the months to come.