Burnley FC must have expected more in one department after winning Sunderland, Leeds United transfer race | OneFootball

Marcus Edwards has impressed in the early stages of his Burnley career, but the club may have expected more attacking contributions.

Burnley remain in a strong position to secure automatic promotion back to the Premier League.

Despite sitting third in the Championship table, Scott Parker’s men are only two points off both Leeds United and Sheffield United with eight games to go of the regular season, with such a small swing possible after just another match.

The Clarets are on the hunt to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, and have been impeccable from a defensive standpoint to give themselves the best chance of winning as many games as possible.

The Lancashire outfit managed to recently register a remarkable 13 straight clean sheets in the second tier, becoming the specialists of shutting teams out.

The Clarets have also tried their best to bolster the front line as much as possible, with a mix of defensive resoluteness and a free-flowing attack the perfect partnership to taking the division by storm.

One way Burnley improved their firepower was through the capture of Marcus Edwards on loan from Sporting Lisbon.

This move was seen as a tremendous coup during the winter window, with Edwards having previous experience at Spurs, while his form in Portugal stirred up speculation about an international call-up for England back in September 2024.

The wideman has impressed in the early stages of his Burnley stint, with his arrival coinciding with an upturn in results and being a feared presence on the right-hand side for opposition defenders, but someone of his talent should be improving his goals and assists output to match the level of his performances.

Marcus Edwards must improve one key area in a Burnley shirt

When linking up at Turf Moor, many watchers of the Championship on a regular basis would have expected Marcus Edwards to have a significant impact on the Burnley team, and he has managed to provide that after just a handful of games.

Being such a danger man out wide, Edwards has normally seen opposition teams doubling up on him in an attempt to nullify his qualities, but in turn this has helped the likes of Connor Roberts and Jaidon Anthony get more time and space on the ball to showcase their abilities.

It was clear to see why the Clarets worked so hard on the transfer front to stave off interest from the likes of Sunderland and Leeds United for the 26-year-old, but a lack of attacking contributions may be one frustration the club holds at the moment.

In front of goal, Edwards has only shown in glimpses what he can produce, with the loanee drifting away from numerous players before providing a stunning finish on his first full start against Sheffield Wednesday.

However, the winger hasn’t been able to kick on and register a flurry of returns, failing to find the back of the net in his last five games, and only producing one assist, which came against Luton.

Despite being such a notable difference to Scott Parker's team with his presence and quality on the ball, Burnley will be hopeful Edwards can find an extra gear to score and create chances on a more regular basis, with an added number of goals at the top end of the pitch only standing Burnley in greater stead to come out on top in the race for the top two.

More goals and assists for Marcus Edwards would make it the perfect Burnley loan spell

While there is a lot of expectation on Marcus Edwards's shoulders, and he has performed well, there's no doubt the former Tottenham man should have more goal contributions than what he’s managed to register at the moment, given his reputation.

It will be up to Edwards to find the solutions to the questions that second-tier defenders are posing at him right now, and if he can do that, then Burnley will have a fantastic opportunity to leapfrog into an automatic promotion spot, as well as potentially lift the Championship title.