"Scott Parker likes" - Burnley FC urged to make Southampton, Ross Stewart move | OneFootball

FLW's Burnley fan pundit has identified Ross Stewart as a potential solution to Burnley's striking issues

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...

Ahead of what looks set to be a pivotal January transfer window in Burnley's attempt to bounce straight back to the Premier League, the Clarets have been urged to take a look at Ross Stewart.

It's no secret that Burnley are likely to be in the market for a striker in January after they've struggled for goals throughout the season, and with Lyle Foster spending more time on the sidelines than on the pitch, they're desperately short in the striking department.

That hasn't stopped Scott Parker's side storming into the automatic promotion places, although that success can primarily be attributed to a dogged rearguard which has conceded the fewest goals in Championship history after 18 games.

We asked our FLW Burnley fan pundit Will Lancaster where he felt Burnley needed to strengthen in January and if he had any names that Parker could potentially look at, and his answer echoed the thoughts of most Clarets fans.

He said: "I don't think we need too many players in January, we've got so many injured players who are set to come back, the likes of Jordan Beyer, Nathan Redmond, Aaron Ramsey, Manuel Benson and Lyle Foster to add to a squad who've now won four games on the bounce.

"We've conceded two goals in the last 12, which is a remarkable tally, so the defence doesn't really need much doing to it.

"A striker is a priority with Jay Rodriguez 35 years of age and leading the line, you can't really rely on him to play another 28 games.

"I'd maybe like to see a back-up right-back. When Connor Roberts isn't available, we tend to play Bashir Humphreys on the right, but he's left-footed and not very good going forward, he's a centre-half turned into a left-back if needed.

"Maybe a central midfielder. We've got Josh Brownhill who's out of contract in the summer so he could depart in January, but I'm not certain that he will.

"In terms of a striker, one name I'd maybe keep my eye on is, because he's not getting any game time at Southampton, Ross Stewart.

"He did really well for Sunderland. He's a big number nine and as we know Scott Parker likes a big number nine having managed Dominic Solanke and Aleksandar Mitrovic, so someone of his ilk who maybe isn't getting a lot of game time could be a good acquisition."

A fully fit Ross Stewart could fire Burnley to promotion

It's widely acknowledged that the final piece of the puzzle for Burnley is more than likely having a number nine who can put the ball in the net on a regular basis.

Stewart has proved he can do that at this level, netting 10 times in 13 Championship appearances for Sunderland back in 2022/23 before an injury cut short his season.

Prior to that, he'd scored 24 in 46 in League One, so his goalscoring prowess is unquestioned, but there are huge question marks over his fitness.

He's missed far more games than he's played across the last two years, but that wouldn't be a huge issue to Burnley if they were to only take him on loan.

It would probably be a risk worth taking as his goals, if he could stay fit, would almost certainly boost their promotion hopes, as he's far more prolific at this level than Foster, who will undoubtedly be the go-to man again up front when he's fit.