"I could see us letting him go" - Burnley fan pundit addresses potential exit of forward as German outfit interested | OneFootball

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…

One of Vincent Kompany's signings of the big Burnley summer rebuild could already be heading out of the exit door in the coming months - albeit temporarily.

That is because rarely-used winger Darko Churlinov is a wanted man back in Germany, just over six months after he was signed by the Clarets from Stuttgart.

The 22-year-old arrived at Turf Moor off the back of a loan spell with Schalke in the second tier of German football last season, and it is that very same club who want to sign him yet again for the 2023-24 season, according to Sky Sport Germany.

FootballLeagueWorld VIDEO OF THE DAY

It's also been claimed that Churlinov would be keen to return to Gelsenkirchen, and Burnley would be happy to let him depart on loan as he has made just 12 appearances this season so far - three of those being starts - and his chances of game-time if the club are expectedly promoted to the Premier League are slim.

Even though it is only a loan deal that has been mooted, FLW's Clarets fan pundit Ben Livingstone would not be shocked if the club accepted a permanent offer this summer for the North Macedonia international's services, despite putting in some positive displays from the bench this season.

"I've been really impressed with Darko's showings whenever he's played to be fair," Ben said.

"He's been quite good apart from Stoke where he wasn't great, but against Fleetwood recently he was fantastic when he came off the bench.

"I was surprised he didn't make the bench for Blackpool - I thought he would have had a much better impact that Obafemi would have out wide, so it was a weird one for him not to play and then play in the under-21's game the day after.

"I could see us letting him go in the summer if the right offer comes in - obviously he was great for them in the second tier when they won promotion, I know Schalke fans love him so I'm sure they'd definitely want to get him if they can.

"But I think it would take a couple of million (pounds) for us to sell and then re-invest that money into maybe a Premier League-level winger."

The Verdict

Realistically, if Churlinov isn't going to be getting in Burnley's team in the Championship, then he won't be getting near the squad in the Premier League.

Vincent Kompany had a chance to put him on the bench against Blackpool this past weekend after his positive impact against Fleetwood just a few days prior, but he opted not to name him in the squad, which shows where he is in the pecking order.

Churlinov is contracted to Burnley for another three years, and at the age of 22 perhaps they shouldn't cash in on him just yet.

He can still improve as a player and whatever division Schalke are in next season, he will surely develop if he gets regular minutes, so a loan exit would work for everyone involved.