Burnley FC: Scott Parker faces stick or twist situation with inconsistent Vincent Kompany man | OneFootball

Will the Clarets opt to stick with their man this summer?

Burnley boss Scott Parker will now be turning his attention towards the summer transfer window in a bid to strengthen his squad - but naturally, after promotion to the Premier League, that will leave him with huge decisions to make in terms of his current options.

The Clarets achieved 100 points in the Championship campaign under Parker, recording just two defeats in the entire campaign - with their last defeat in the league coming at the start of November. Just 16 goals conceded has set EFL records, broken a Championship record by almost half and, more importantly, seen them return to the Premier League - and now the summer transfer window will give them a chance to strengthen in a bid to stay up.

But whilst incomings will be paramount to their chances of top-flight survival, Parker must make huge decisions about his current squad - and Lyle Foster could be one of the most difficult to decide upon after some poor performances this season.

Lyle Foster may have run out of auditions to impress Scott Parker

Foster made his way to Turf Moor in January 2023 after then-boss Vincent Kompany made a personal scouting trip to Belgian outfit Westerlo to watch the South African star, and having completed a deal for £12million including add-ons, he was expected to be bedded into life in east Lancashire whilst the Clarets completed their demolition of the Championship that season.

11 Championship games for Burnley, including four starts, only saw him score once in the league against Wigan Athletic, who were relegated later that season - and some below-par performances saw the former Monaco youth star falter despite Burnley's strong season.

But it was his Premier League campaign that saw him look to have cracked the English code. Two goals in his first two home games of the top-flight campaign saw Foster make a strong individual start to the campaign, alongside a strike away at Luton Town to record Burnley's first win of the season and two assists - racking up a tally of five goal contributions in his first six games.

However, time off with mental health issues and muscle injuries throughout the campaign saw him record just three goal contributions for the rest of the season as Burnley saw themselves relegated to the Championship at the first time of asking.

The recent Championship season was almost a mirror; strong performances saw him record a goal against Blackburn Rovers and an assist in his first four games for the club, but a knee injury on international duty saw him struggle and, having found a place on the left-hand side of midfield, Foster only registered a further five contributions from Christmas until the start of April.

Lyle Foster could be sold to bring in other recruits in the summer transfer window

The issue here is that he's not entirely nailed down a place in Burnley's side. Foster's form in the Premier League and his start to the season saw him expected to be top scorer in the division, and now Zian Flemming has found his way into the starting XI as the club's main talisman.

Furthermore, the permanent arrivals of Jaidon Anthony and Marcus Edwards after promotion means that any spots on the left-wing - where he featured regularly until Edwards forced Anthony into that role - means that he's struggled for game time, only mustering two starts in Burnley's last 13.

Burnley are going to need another striker in the transfer window if they are to have any chance of staying in the division, and Foster's form in the Premier League - albeit good - hasn't improved this season.

He could be sold to make way for other recruits, which would help Parker out - but there's that lingering feeling that if he is sold and Burnley go down, he could have helped them in their Premier League campaign.

It's perhaps one of the most important decisions to make on the back of promotion.