Burnley is looking for a consistent striker to assist them return to the Premier League.
Despite being at the top of the division after descending from the top level last season, the Clarets have only scored 31 goals in 26 league games, with 12 other teams scoring more.
This season, Josh Brownhill is the club’s top scorer with nine league goals, while Zian Flemming is the highest scoring frontman with only four goals. This underscores the need for a powerful number nine before the season ends.
Bringing in a forward in January could help the Turf Moor outfit, but they will approach any deals with caution after being burnt before. Football League World’s Burnley fan analyst Josh Lucas is still furious about Wout Weghorst’s spell in the north west.
Wout Weghorst, Burnley move fails to help Clarets’ attacking issues
Weghorst joined Lancashire in January 2022 for a reported eight-figure price from Wolfsburg, hoping to lead the side to Premier League survival for the rest of the season.
Despite Burnley’s return to the EFL after six seasons, the striker struggled to meet expectations, scoring only two goals in 20 top-flight outings.
Weghorst was reluctant to play in the English second tier after failing to do his job, and he quickly made a number of loan moves away from the club, with Besiktas, Manchester United, and Hoffenheim all taking him temporarily before joining Ajax permanently last summer.
Overall, it was money down the waste for the Clarets, who had a player on their books for two and a half years but only saw him play 22 league games, and Lucas is eager for his team to avoid a duplicate scenario this time around.
When questioned about a mistake Burnley had made in the transfer market that he would rather not repeat, he said: “One of our biggest blunders was definitely signing a player like Wout Weghorst.
“He clearly didn’t play Sean Dyche football at the time; we paid £12 million for him, and not only was he not good enough, but he didn’t fit into our methods, couldn’t fit in properly, and definitely had an attitude problem.
“Obviously, we’re looking for a striker right now, and we can’t make the same mistake we did with him.”
| Wout Weghorst’s Burnley stats, as per FotMob | |||
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 2021/22 | 20 | 2 | 3 |
| 2024/25 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
“Even when we were relegated and he didn’t want to be here, we loaned him out and eventually sold him, but it was a tale that lasted two and a half transfer windows.
“It was always, ‘Is he going to be here, or not?'” We didn’t need that at the moment, and if we’re going to bring in the striker we need, he’ll have to be able to play our style of game and fit in well with the squad.”
Burnley must find suitable fit to fill striker role this winter
The Weghorst dilemma will be clearly in the thoughts of Burnley fans this January, with the club looking for a player who can boost their prospects of promotion while not disrupting the squad’s harmony at the moment.
With only nine goals conceded by James Trafford, the Clarets have rarely needed more than a single goal to win league games this season. With a reliable figure up top, everything may click into gear between now and the season’s finish in May.
While Lyle Foster works his way back to full fitness and wily campaigners Jay Rodriguez [pictured] and Ashley Barnes plough a furrow in the final third, another fresh face could well make the difference, though history has shown that the club does not need to rush into decisions, with a player’s fit into Parker’s system being more important than anything else at this time.
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