Burnley player not threatening to live up to standards of Dyche and Kompany favourites: View | OneFootball

It has been a turbulent start to life at Burnley for defender Lucas Pires following his summer move from Santos.

Burnley will be hoping to challenge for promotion from the Championship this season.

It was an incredibly disappointing campaign for the Clarets in 2023-24 as they were relegated from the Premier League after just one year back in the top flight, and they suffered a further blow as manager Vincent Kompany made a shock move to German giants Bayern Munich in May.

Scott Parker was appointed as Kompany's replacement, and it was a busy summer as the 43-year-old rebuilt his squad, with 12 new signings arriving at Turf Moor, while Maxime Esteve and Mike Tresor completed permanent moves to the club.

There were also a number of high-profile departures, including Aro Muric, Vitinho, Dara O'Shea, Sander Berge, Anass Zaroury, Wilson Odobert and Wout Weghorst, but despite fears of a mass exodus in the closing stages of the transfer window, Burnley managed to hold on to the likes of James Trafford, Josh Brownhill, Luca Koleosho and Lyle Foster.

Many of the Clarets' new additions have made a positive impact so far this season, but one player who has endured a turbulent start to his time in Lancashire is defender Lucas Pires.

Burnley supporters will be having doubts about Lucas Pires signing

Pires joined Burnley from Brazilian side Santos in July for a reported fee of £2 million, and after completing his move to Turf Moor, he described the opportunity to play in English football as a "dream come true".

The 23-year-old spent last season out on loan at Cadiz, scoring one goal in 30 appearances, and while he did suffer relegation from La Liga, the fact that he had played in the Spanish top flight offered hope that he would be able to adapt to the Championship.

Pires enjoyed an outstanding debut for the Clarets in the 4-1 win at Luton Town on the opening weekend as he registered two assists, and he earned praise from Parker for his performance.

"I thought he was very good," Parker told the Burnley Express.

" He looked every bit of what I’ve seen from him over the last four weeks.

"This is a boy that’s come to a new country. English wise, he’s limited, and your first game is at Luton away. But he was every bit of what I expected him to be having looked at him from training. He was superb."

However, after the bright start to his Burnley career, Pires has found it much tougher in recent weeks against the likes of Sudnerland and Blackburn Rovers, and he has come in for criticism from supporters for some uncertain displays.

Lucas Pires may struggle to reach Charlie Taylor and Ian Maatsen heights

As Parker says, Pires is adapting to life in a new country and a new league, so it would be unfair to judge him too harshly amid his recent decline in form.

Parker was forced to rotate his team significantly in the final few weeks of August due to injury issues and transfer speculation, meaning that it has been diffiicult for Pires to build partnerships with those around him.

However, left-back has been a problem position for Burnley over the last 12 months, and Clarets supporters will be concerned that Pires may not be able to reach the same standards as the likes of Charlie Taylor and Ian Maatsen.

Taylor made the move to Turf Moor from Leeds United for a fee of between £6-7 million in July 2017, and he was a regular for five seasons in the Premier League under Sean Dyche, while he was also part of the squad that won the Championship title under Vincent Kompany in the 2022-23 campaign.

The 30-year-old was offered a new contract by Burnley this summer, but he instead decided to join Southampton following their promotion to the top flight, departing after scoring one goal and providing one assist in 220 appearances for the club.

Maatsen spent a much shorter time in Lancashire, but he arguably made an even bigger impact as he starred in the Clarets' title-winning season while on loan from Chelsea, scoring four goals and providing six assists in 42 appearances, and he was named in the Championship Team of the Season.

Chelsea did accept an offer from Burnley for Maatsen last summer that would have seen him return to the club on loan, with an obligation to buy for £31.5 million, but he turned down the move in order to remain at Stamford Bridge.

However, Maatsen struggled for game time with the Blues, and after spending the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Dortmund, he made a £37.5 million move to Aston Villa this summer.

Of course, it would be difficult for any player to make the same impact as Taylor or Maatsen, but Burnley will be desperately hoping that Pires can improve, particularly as he is currently their only fit senior left-back.

The positive for the Clarets is that Pires proved on the opening weekend that he is more than capable of performing in the Championship, and they will need him to deliver consistently if they are to achieve their promotion ambitions.