£2.5m Swansea City hero proved Burnley steal and Vincent Kompany favourite: View | OneFootball

Connor Roberts has been immense for Burnley in the Championship and he has proven to be an absolute steal at Turf Moor

Burnley have compiled an expensive squad by Championship standards, having spent big upon their promotion to the Premier League in the summer of 2023 - but one of their most consistent stars remains one of their cheapest bargain buys in Connor Roberts.

The Clarets spent millions last summer on the likes of Sander Berge, Zeki Amdouni and Mike Tresor, and although they were relegated, they have had to sell players to manage cash flow and only a certain number of their original stars who went up under Belgian boss remain at Turf Moor under Scott Parker.

One of those is Roberts. The Welshman did spend the second half of last season on loan at Leeds United after falling behind Lorenz Assignon and Vitinho in the pecking order, but he came back to Turf Moor in the summer and has hit the ground running once again in east Lancashire - and at just £2.5million, he has proven to be a steal.

Roberts swapped Swansea City for the Lancashire hills in the summer of 2021 after the Welsh club squandered promotion against Brentford in the Championship play-off final at Wembley. Having been at his best for his boyhood club with 11 goals across three seasons from wing-back, then-Clarets manager Sean Dyche utilised him through the second half of the campaign, though it was in vain as they were relegated to the second-tier for the first time in six seasons.

With a change of manager and playing style when Vincent Kompany was brought to the helm, Roberts was a permanent fixture in the side - and he became a favourite that season, only missing three games as Burnley romped to a 101-point season.

Playing in an inverted full-back role, the Welshman's passing and positioning gave them the platform to excel in a possession-based sense, with the Welshman completing every minute from mid-February onwards - and only four minutes of being substituted vs Watford as Kompany's men searched for a late draw denied him from being ever-present in 2024.

That didn't quite go to plan last season, when he was chosen as the club's right-back until a sending off against Brentford in late October started a period of inactivity at Premier League level - and he was shipped out to Leeds as a result. But having returned, he's blossomed in Parker's system and there was a notable difference in quality and chances created when he was out injured.

Burnley's performances could improve massively with Roberts' return

Returning to the fore in the second half of Burnley's game against Preston North End before the international break will give Parker a lot more confidence going forward, where the Clarets had played left-footed centre-back Bashir Humphreys at right-back for four games - and their attacking output may well increase in the coming weeks.

An overall record of 22 assists and 16 goals in the Championship in just 190 games is an outstanding tally for a full-back, and with Lucas Pires slowly finding his feet on the other side of defence, it could be a huge boost that will see Burnley end their poor run of goalscoring form.