BURNLEY will get a reunion with fans' player of the year Joey Barton earlier than expected after the club announced a pre-season friendly against Rangers.

The Clarets travelled to Ibrox a year ago for a friendly, with Scott Arfield scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win.

And the two sides will face other again this summer, with Sean Dyche taking his side to Glasgow for a match against the Light Blues on Saturday, July 30 (3pm kick-off).

Both sides secured silverware last season, with Burnley winning the Championship to return to the Premier League and Rangers clinching the Scottish Championship with four games to spare to return to their top flight.

"Burnley were very welcome visitors a year ago and gave us an enormously beneficial test for the season ahead," said Gers boss Mark Warburton.

"We look forward to again welcoming Sean Dyche, his staff and players for what we know will be a very tough challenge but one that helps both teams prepare for their respective campaigns."

Midfielder Barton was voted player of the year by Burnley fans last term, but having been offered a one-year contract extension at Turf Moor he instead opted to move north of the border and join Rangers on a two-year deal.

The Gers have also secured the signatures of Accrington Stanley pair Josh Windass and Matt Crooks on pre-contract agreements, and they will join on July 1 as well.

Rangers' head of recruitment Frank McParland also has Burnley links, having taken that job after a brief spell as the sporting director at Turf Moor.

The fixture is Burnley's fourth pre-season friendly to be announced so far.

They also have away games at Morecambe (July 19), Bradford City (July 23) and Bolton (July 26).