Football League World
·10 August 2024
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·10 August 2024
The players that have left top flight clubs and haven't yet found a home could offer something good to the Clarets.
Even with the bulging size of Burnley's squad, they are still expected to be active in the transfer market.
As things stand, Scott Parker has a 37-man team to work with, and that's not even really including many fringe youngsters who could emerge into the first team.
It is a ludicrous number of players to have to deal with, but that's the task that the former Fulham and AFC Bournemouth boss has been set.
Because of the high volume of team members at Parker's disposal, the boss has a lot of good players to choose from. Yet they are still adding pieces; the most recent addition being English goalkeeper Etienne Green, who has joined from French side Saint-Etienne.
There are still a few weeks to go until the window shuts, and Burnley may pass the 40-player threshold before the end of the month.
One cost-effective way of hitting that marker, even though it's not a goal of theirs, is by bringing in free agents. There are still a couple of them out there from their former league who could really help them next season.
After leaving West Ham United, there have been a lot of well-respected clubs that have reportedly gone after Divin Mubama. At one point, Sunderland were reported by both The Athletic and GiveMeSport to be leading the race for the 19-year-old forward.
Others that have been linked with Mubama include West Bromwich Albion, Lyon and Premier League clubs.
Nizaar Kinsella has also reported that the teenager was leaning towards a move to the continent, rather than staying in England.
There hasn't been much movement on his front for a while, and a door could be open for Burnley to go through.
He has experience at the highest level, even as a teenager, having played in both the English top flight and in European competitions.
He's a natural number nine and goalscorer. Even with the Clarets' huge squad, they don't have tonnes of those.
This could be a really shrewd move for Burnley, if they can beat off the other competition.
The Senegalese international, 34, is at the stage of his career where, if he wants to stay in England, his options are likely to be either at the bottom end of the Premier League - a team like Ipswich Town, for example, who are looking for experience - or at the top end of the second tier.
Burnley's desire for this season is to be the latter, and, with the possibility of Sander Berge leaving, a free move for Cheikhou Kouyate may provide a smart back-up option for Parker.
Berge has been linked with Manchester United a lot in the past few days. United and the Clarets have held initial talks over a deal, and TEAMtalk has reported that the Norwegian midfielder has said yes to the move.
There's a real chance that he could leave Turf Moor. Of the current options to fill his spot that Parker can instantly deploy, none of them could offer the level of physicality that Berge brings, which would make Kouyate, even with his age, a good short-term pick-up.