BURNLEY have appointed a new goalkeeping coach.

Fabian Otte will support Billy Mercer at Turf Moor, replacing Craig Mawson who left for Manchester United in December.

The 29-year-old German’s role will see him help the club’s younger goalkeepers transition to the first-team from the Development squad.

Otte’s wide-ranging career first saw him move to the United States to play in the US college system before returning home to play league football in Germany, then going on to play and coach in New Zealand.

His first taste of English football came in the North-East with non-league Blyth Spartans, while studying for a master’s degree in marketing at Newcastle University near to the home of girlfriend Chloe.

After a spell working in the Netherlands for Nike, Otte returned to New Zealand to coach within the national set-up and became goalkeeping coach for the women’s national team aiming for the now-postponed 2020 Olympics.

Hoffenheim lured Otte back home where he benefitted from two years working under Michael Rechner before securing his move to the Clarets. He arrives at Turf Moor having been working with the Bundesliga club’s Under-23s.

Otte started work at Barnfield last week with the club’s Covid-19 restrictions firmly in place.

“Everybody has been unbelievably nice,” he said. “I haven’t been able to meet too many people at the club from outside the ‘bubble’ but everyone has been so welcoming.

“I had a great mentor and working at Hoffenheim was a great learning curve, being part of first-team training and coaching the Under-23s, who play men’s football in Germany.

“But we wanted to go to England, and this was the right place at the right time and I am so lucky this opportunity came up.

“This is a great league to be in. Germany has a really good culture, but English football is unique and very special.

“And the goalkeeping group at Burnley is unbelievable. All the goalkeepers in the group are very good but very different, which makes it interesting for a goalkeeping coach.

“It’s exciting to see them in training every day and I will be asking Billy to have an eye for goalkeepers like he has!

“He has had so many good ones and I will also be trying to develop our own through the younger age groups who can go on and play for the first team.”