‘AND the exciting summer of transfers starts in earnest ...’ ‘Nowt like picking the creme de la creme is there #baffled’.

These were just some of the social media (namely Twitter) reactions to news that Burnley wanted a young goalkeeper from non-league.

It was a similar story last summer.

Having sold top scorer Jay Rodriguez for a club record £7million fee the club was mindful of how fans might respond to news that their first signing ahead of the 2012/13 campaign was from Mansfield.

It didn’t seem to matter that Luke O’Neill came with rave reviews for not just his defensive capabilities but also his goalscoring feats and right wing raids. He was viewed by the management as next in line to Kieran Trippier to the number two shirt long-term.

Still the general mood towards young right back O’Neill was one of apathy. That was until the first pre-season friendly at Altrincham – at least for those who travelled. They liked what they saw, reported back and opinion changed.

The defender has potential that, such was the overall consistency of selection and performance from PFA Championship team of the year entrant Trippier again this season, has yet to be realised.

And yet we still keep judging books by their Evo-Stik covers, as in the case of Liversedge.

Burnley have kept a close eye on the 24-year-old former Darlington stopper over the last 10 months or so. He has played in the last two Development Squad behind-closed-doors friendlies.

Burnley are doing their homework.

Goalkeeping coach Billy Mercer is said to really rate the 6ft 4ins stopper.

Having worked with Lee Grant for six years at Sheffield Wednesday and Burnley, he’s not a bad judge of character.

And who is to say that Liversedge isn’t ready for the Football League?

Before making the move to Burnley, Wade Elliott started out at Southern Division side Bashley; Charlie Austin was a Poole Town predator and bricklayer; Marvin Bartley juggled fitting windows with trawling the non-league scene.

Of course they had cut their teeth at a lower level (namely Bournemouth for Elliott and Bartley, and Swindon Town for Austin), and put in consistently good performances, before earning the right to make the step up to the Championship, and beyond in Elliott’s case – possibly Austin’s too eventually.

You sometimes have to dig for gold in order to find it.