Burnley FC: Marcus Edwards transfer coup may not solve huge Scott Parker issue | OneFootball

The loan signing of Sporting Lisbon winger Marcus Edwards was a big coup for Burnley, but it may not solve their goalscoring problems.

It has been an excellent season so far for Burnley in the Championship, and they look in a strong position to bounce back to the Premier League at the first attempt.

Despite losing manager Vincent Kompany and a host of key players in the summer, Burnley have emerged as serious automatic promotion contenders this season under the guidance of head coach Scott Parker.

The Clarets have been in outstanding form in recent months, and they extended their unbeaten run to 18 league games with a 1-0 win over Oxford United at Turf Moor on Tuesday night, with Michal Helik's 33rd-minute own goal sealing all three points and moving Parker's men up to second in the table.

Burnley's remarkable defensive record continued as they kept their ninth consecutive league clean sheet against Oxford, and their 22nd shutout of the season overall, while they have still only conceded nine goals this campaign.

However, the Clarets have fared much less impressively at the other end of the pitch, and while some of their January transfer business was eye-catching, it may not address their goalscoring problems.

Marcus Edwards is a statement signing for Burnley FC

Burnley brought in five new signings during the January transfer window, with defender Oliver Sonne, midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, wingers Marcus Edwards and Jaydon Banel and striker Ashley Barnes joining the club.

While all five players look like decent additions for the Clarets, the arrival of Edwards on loan from Sporting Lisbon has certainly raised a few eyebrows.

Burnley reportedly paid an £800,000 loan fee for Edwards, with an obligation to buy for £10 million included in the deal, and many were surprised that the Lancashire outfit were able to land a player who was said to be on the radar of former club Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal as recently as the summer.

Edwards, who was once likened to Lionel Messi by ex-Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, scored 24 goals and provided 26 assists in 120 games during his three-year spell at Sporting, underlining the quality he will bring to the Clarets in the Championship.

Parker has stressed that Edwards "needs a bit more training time" to get up to speed after an injury-disrupted season, but he described the 26-year-old as a "special player with special talent", and crucially, he is a left-footed winger, which is something that Burnley have been missing this campaign.

The excitement of Clarets supporters about the signing of Edwards is understandable, and he will be a huge asset for the club in their promotion push over the next few months, but there is still one glaring area of weakness in Parker's squad.

Burnley's defensive record this season has been nothing short of incredible, but it is fair to say that their goalscoring record leaves a lot to be desired.

The Clarets scored nine goals in their first two games against Luton Town and Cardiff City, but since then, they have netted just 28 goals in their last 29 matches - and five of those came in the comprehensive victory at Plymouth Argyle last month.

Burnley have drawn 0-0 on 10 occasions this season, meaning that almost a third of their games have ended in that scoreline, and the addition of a clinical goalscorer in January could have been a game changer for Parker's men in their pursuit of promotion.

The Clarets did bring in one striker during the window, with Ashley Barnes returning to the club from Norwich City, but the 35-year-old has yet to get on the scoresheet this season from his three cameo outings, so he is unlikely to be the answer to their problems.

It could even be argued that Burnley's forward line is weaker than at the start of the window after the departures of Andreas Hountondji and Jay Rodriguez, and you have to question why owner Alan Pace decided against spending big on a striker, particularly when the need for a new number nine is so evident.

Edwards will help to bring more of a creative spark to the Clarets, and that may enable them to turn some of their draws into victories, but the lack of a clinical finisher could prove costly in the race for automatic promotion.

They're clearly doing okay right now, but when it comes to crunch time later on in the season and where goals will be needed, no one will have the confidence to say that Parker is well-equipped for his team to hit the back of the net with regularity.