Burnley FC told "Kompany's golden boy" has come on "leaps and bounds" under Scott Parker | OneFootball

FLW's Burnley pundit gives his take on what player has surprised him this campaign.

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…

Scott Parker's Burnley side are gearing up for an exciting run-in as they aim to edge out Leeds United or Sheffield United for automatic promotion.

The Clarets are first tasked with chasing down Chris Wilder's Blades and will be hoping their defence remains resolute in the final games of the season.

It has been a historic season defensively, with an outstanding run of 12 clean sheets ending during Tuesday's 2-1 win over Cardiff City, but at the other end of the pitch they have struggled to make an impact, with Scott Parker's side averaging just over 1.3 goals per game.

This is something that the former Chelsea player will look to address, as a bit more sharpness in front of goal could be the key to securing that top two finish.

CJ Egan-Riley highlighted as Burnley's surprise package

Taking a look back at the season so far, Football League World decided to speak to their resident Claret, Josh Lucas, to get his take on what player has been the biggest surprise package in the current squad.

"The player who has surprised me is probably Egan-Riley," said Lucas.

"The last two years, he has not exactly been playing, and we thought he would be (Vincent) Kompany's golden boy. He was given the number six, went straight out on loan to a Scottish league side, and came back, and you think, 'maybe he might be involved,' but instead, he goes on loan to PSV.

"However, with all the turmoil with transfers at the start of this season, he started against Sunderland, and everyone thought, 'what is he doing there?'. Everyone still thought he was going, and he only has a year on his contract."

Speaking about his performances, the Burnley supporter stated: "He came on against Blackburn and looked very shaky, but since then, he has come on leaps and bounds, and he has been unplayable at times.

"For me, he is probably up there as one of the players of the season. He is still a very young lad, and we saw (Joe) Worrall come in, and I thought he (Egan-Riley) would be on the bench every game and be nowhere near it. But, he has played most of the season and been unbelievable."

Burnley need to sort CJ Egan-Riley's contract

Burnley's defence has been the foundation of their success this season, and they will be keen to maintain those playing within it, regardless of which division they find themselves in heading into the 2025-26 campaign.

This won't prove a simple task, especially with James Trafford and Maxime Esteve already attracting interest before the summer window has begun.

Egan-Riley completes the final piece of that back-three triangle, and with his contract set to expire in the summer, his future also remains uncertain.

Parker has already revealed that they are in talks to renew that, and Egan-Riley has admitted that he would "love" to stay past this summer.