"A shock that we kept him" - Burnley FC surprise issued over summer transfer saga | OneFootball

Koleosho has remained at Turf Moor despite interest in the summer

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

The recent summer transfer window saw Burnley come under the microscope on a plethora of occasions.

As is often the case for a side who suffers relegation from the Premier League, there is immediate interest in numerous big names and key performers who may have seen a dip in their valuation occur as a result.

The Clarets did lose a number of key names such as Wilson Odobert, Dara O'Shea, Aro Muric and Sander Berge among others, as well as finally being able to shift Dutch striker Wout Weghorst off the wage bill, with the big striker returning to his home nation after a permanent move to Ajax.

Despite overseeing a high amount of player turnover just weeks after being installed in the Turf Moor hotseat, Scott Parker does still possess one of the strongest squads in the Championship on paper, and his side have got off to a solid, but not spectacular start to the season all things considered, regardless of wiping the floor with Luton Town and Cardiff City in their first two games by an aggregate score of 9-1.

So, with that being said, it begs the question as to who is currently Burnley's most prized-asset after the conclusion of their summer activity.

Luca Koleosho valuation claim made amid Burnley, Wolves transfer saga

FLW's Clarets fan pundit, Nathan Rogers, believes that the highest-valued player who remains a part of the squad is currently Luca Koleosho, who was the subject of strong interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the dying embers of the transfer window.

The West Midlands side were reportedly interested in a move for the 19-year-old who made just 15 appearances in the top-flight last term, before it was revealed by BBC Sport that a £20m bid had been knocked back by Burnley, and that their chances of sourcing Koleosho as a Pedro Neto replacement were "fading", regardless of the winger's interest on a move to Molineux.

Sacha Tavolieri then claimed that Burnley were not willing to negotiate the £25m offer Wolves had then placed on the table ahead of an EFL Cup clash between the two clubs last month, before a final update on August 29th by Fabrizio Romano stated that Wolves would focus on other targets after the Clarets' final valuation of £40m was deemed too expensive by Gary O'Neil's side.

Such circumstances, as well as his high ceiling, have been cited by Rogers as some of the main factors behind such a high price-point for the Italian youth international.

"I think our club's most valuable player at the moment is Luca Koleosho," Nathan told Football League World.

"It was a shock that we kept him, to be honest.

"I thought, coming down from the Premier League, that a Premier League club would've snapped him up pretty quickly. He was linked with Wolves, but that deal never happened."

"To keep him this season in the Championship is pretty amazing for us.

"But, I think he's got the highest financial value in the squad, being so young and so talented.

"I would say the ability he's got is pretty high for us, so Luca Koleosho for me (is Burnley's most-valuable player)."

Luca Koleosho has the ability to rip-up the Championship

Despite being so young, the winger, who was acquired for just £2.6m from Espanyol last season, more than has the ability to be a difference-maker for Parker in the remainder of the season with his short-term future at least at Turf Moor.

Last season, Koleosho saw gametime in the Premier League limited to 15 appearances as a result of a knee injury, which was also sustained at Molineux last December, but emerged as one of few bright sparks in a dismal season under Vincent Kompany.

The accumulation of metrics such as 2.2 successful dribbles, the creation of two big chances, one goal, one assist and the winning of 3.7 duels on average in such a short sample size highlights the future potential that the USA-born man can realise in the years to come, and that starts right now in the Championship having featured in 3 of the Clarets' opening four games.

Burnley have had great success with wingers at this level in the recent past, such as Manuel Benson, who was a star performer in their title-winning season of two years ago, with 11 goals and three assists in just 33 Championship appearances.

If Koleosho can build on his first goal of the campaign, which came in the 5-0 home rout over Cardiff on August 17th and match or better those numbers, it won't be hard to see why such a high valuation has been placed on his services, also having three years left on his current deal in East Lancashire.