5 Burnley FC transfer mistakes the club must try not repeat in January 2025 | OneFootball

These five Burnley FC signings could be the worst in recent history and they must do everything to avoid a repeat in January

After spending a majority of the last decade in the Premier League, money hasn't been a huge financial obstacle to Burnley, but that's not to say they've spent it all wisely.

Plenty of signings have come and gone at Turf Moor, but some will live longer in the memory than others, with some free additions such as Tom Heaton and Scott Arfield providing more input than those who have been bought in eight-figure deals.

The club have certainly made their fair share of mistakes in the market, but there are five who really stick in the mind.

The challenge for both the club and Scott Parker now is to make sure they don't make the same mistakes in January, as one false move could seriously affect their promotion hopes.

Mike Tresor

It's fair to say that Mike Tresor's time at Burnley won't live long in the memory. He signed from Genk for a whopping £18m, and he's gone on to make absolutely no impact in a Burnley shirt.

Tresor signed for the Clarets in the summer of 2023 after claiming the most assists in any major European league in 2022/23, but for Burnley, he never registered a single goal involvement.

He's still at the club, recovering from a setback over the summer, and although Scott Parker has said he's trained and is nearly available for selection, it's unlikely he'll ever play for the club again.

Ben Gibson

When Burnley signed Ben Gibson for a then joint-club record fee of £15m, it seemed like a great investment in a left-sided centre half to fill the void left by Ben Mee, who was seemingly running down his contract.

That great forward planning ultimately backfired when Mee signed a new deal and that forced Gibson to the back of the queue for the left-sided centre half berth.

His stay at Turf Moor was mercifully short, playing just six times in total for the club, and in truth he probably wishes he stayed with his boyhood club, Middlesbrough, while Burnley only managed to recoup £8m of their initial £15m investment when he was eventually sold to Norwich.

Danny Drinkwater

This was a rather curious case, as Burnley actually didn't really lose any money on this deal, it's only in the top five because he was a complete flop.

A Premier League winner who'd lost his way at Chelsea, when Danny Drinkwater moved to Turf Moor on loan in 2019, it seemed like a great signing and exactly what Burnley needed in the heart of their midfield.

But the move never worked at all, as in the midst of getting fit and a whole host of off-field issues, Drinkwater only made two appearances for the club.

For a Premier League winner to come into a struggling Premier League club and not be able to force anyone out of the team, the move can only be described as a failure.

Nahki Wells

Not down to anything on his personal part, Nahki Wells' move to Burnley was underwhelming to say the least.

Like Gibson and Drinkwater, first team opportunities at Turf Moor were limited for Wells, who only made 10 appearances for the club and not a single one was a start, while none of the nine Premier League appearances he made lasted longer than 10 minutes!

Despite being signed by Sean Dyche, Wells simply couldn't get a look in under the former Burnley boss, who evidently didn't like what he saw.

Signing with an injury certainly didn't help his momentum, nor did the form of Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes in the 2017/18 season, but his lack of first team football meant the £5m investment was simply a waste of money.

Wout Weghorst

Last, but certainly not least, is Wout Weghorst, whose name splits opinion at Turf Moor, with some Burnley fans loving him, while others simply can't stand him.

The Clarets spent a reported £12m on the Dutch striker, but after relegation in 2021/22, Weghorst seemed to cool at the thought of playing in the Championship and headed out on loan.

Several loan spells followed, including at Manchester United, before Burnley sold him to Ajax for just over £4m in the summer, which means, after all the loan fees they received, they probably didn't lose much, if any, money from Weghorst.

But he made absolutely no impact at Turf Moor whatsoever, and despite appearing twice in the Championship this season in a bid to save face, he departed as something of a pantomime villain.