Pundit reveals issue Leeds United may find in race to sign Burnley's Manuel Benson | OneFootball

Carlton Palmer has been speaking exclusively with FLW to discuss a possible key stumbling block in a potential Manuel Benson transfer.

Burnley winger Manuel Benson is reportedly a transfer target for Leeds United this summer, but pundit Carlton Palmer believes that selling him to a Championship promotion rival could cause a major stumbling block to a potential deal.

Leeds, Sunderland and Norwich City have all been credited with interest in the Burnley attacker by Daily Express journalist Charlie Gordon, with the Angolan international seemingly keen to secure more starting opportunities elsewhere this season.

Burnley have so far been able to retain many of their key forward players this summer, whilst also making further additions such as Mike Tresor's loan move becoming a permanent one, and the arrival of versatile forward Andreas Hountondji.

With a proven Championship playmaker now seemingly on the market, it's no surprise to see a host of second tier sides vying for his signature.

Speaking exclusively with Football League World, Palmer believes that although Burnley may well want to sell Benson this summer, they will surely be against the idea of strengthening a possible promotion rival in the process.

Palmer said: "Burnley's winger Manuel Benson is attracting a lot of attention. Leeds United, Norwich City and Sunderland have all posted their interest in the player.

"The winger is keen to secure more game time. Benson was a key figure in 2022/23 under Vincent Kompany, winning promotion and playing 37 times, scoring 13 goals and registering four assists.

"The problem is that the player wants to go to secure more game time, after Burnley beat Luton Town on the opening day but was an unused substitute. So, it's unlikely he's going to get a lot of game time, given that Burnley haven't offloaded the wingers that they've got at the football club.

"So it's a problem for Burnley, but they will not be wanting to let him go to any potential promotion rivals, so it's a really difficult situation. Obviously, with Leeds losing Crysencio Summerville, Jaidon Anthony and it looks like they're going to lose Georginio Rutter, he could be the perfect answer to come into their wide positions.

"Norwich have lost Gabriel Sara and Adam Idah in recent times, so he would be a good fit to go to Norwich.

"Sunderland; they are still waiting, and he could be a possible replacement for Jack Clarke if he moves on. Where do I see him fitting in? He could fit in any one of those sides.

"I think Leeds are one of those sides that I predicted at the start of the season that were going to get promotion, but the way that they're losing the quality of players - I know they had to get rid of one or two to fall in line with Financial Fair Play - buy, if they lose Rutter, that is a massive blow after losing Summerville. "Although, they've managed to keep hold of Wilfried Gnonto, but they're going to have to move quickly to bring in players to kick on this season. "So, Sunderland, I don't think they're going to feature in the automatic promotion positions, but could be pushing for a play-off place, same as Norwich. I still fancy Leeds because Daniel Farke knows what he's doing.

Benson would be excellent business for all three clubs

Having played a starring role in Burnley's 2022/23 Championship title-winning season, Benson looked set to reprise his major role in Kompany's side heading into last season's Premier League campaign.

Eight appearances and zero goals or assists later, and the 27-year-old has found himself out in the cold at Turf Moor, and doesn't appear to be in Parker's plans moving forward.

Therefore, for a player who's proven he can be among the best in his position at Championship level, Benson clearly doesn't want to see the prime years of his career go to waste sitting on the Burnley bench.

For Sunderland, he could be seen as either a replacement for Clarke or an upgrade on Patrick Roberts, as the latter endured a fairly unproductive 2023/24 season having failed to score in 32 Championship appearances, and only registering two assists.

At Carrow Road, some further quality on the right wing could be necessary in order to mount a promotion push this season, Johannes Hoff Thorup still pieces together what his strongest Canaries side is.

Losing someone like Rowe would be a huge blow to the quality they possess in wide areas, so replacing him with a player such as Benson would go a long way to fixing that issue.

Whilst at Leeds, Daniel James and Wilfried Gnonto are both quality options to have at Championship level, but behind them, Farke doesn't appear blessed with strength in depth down the flanks.

Bringing in Benson would solve that issue, and provide that extra reassurance of having another top player to call upon when the inevitability of injuries and suspensions occur.

But will Burnley be willing to let him go to a direct Championship rival? It will be fascinating to see how this storyline ends in the remaining days of the transfer window.