"Strange one" - Rarely-seen Vincent Kompany signing tipped for Burnley FC impact | OneFootball

The Clarets' first signing of the summer hasn't been used much since he joined the club in June.

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...

Shurandy Sambo has really struggled for minutes since signing for Burnley in the summer, after leaving PSV Eindhoven.

The 23-year-old right-back joined the club after his deal with PSV expired, becoming Burnley's first signing of the post-Vincent Kompany era.

Burnley's overloaded squad didn't look like it needed a lot to be added to it over the summer. Only one position was a bit thin: right-back (the position that Sambo plays).

Despite his lack of competition, relative to the other parts of the team, Sambo has struggled to break into the first-team.

The new manager, Scott Parker, has preferred to move natural central defender Bashir Humphreys over to the right-hand side of the backline instead of using Sambo, who has only accumulated 18 total minutes in the league since joining Burnley.

His lack of game time makes a January move, whether it be permanent or temporary, feel more and more like the right thing to do. However, there is still some confidence that he can have an impact on this Burnley team.

Shurandy Sambo backed to make Burnley impact

Nathan Rogers, a Football League World Claret fan pundit, thinks that the upcoming fixture congestion over the winter months will give Sambo a chance to properly break into the first team, despite his rocky start to life at Turf Moor.

"I think the Sambo situation is quite a unique one because he came as a pre-signing under Kompany - he was Kompany's man. So all the looking at him was done by Kompnay and his team, so it was a strange one that he was going to sign even though he had left.

"I think Parker has bedded him in slowly because he's new to the country, and what not. I think he's mentioned a few times that he's just not quite ready yet or it's fitness - it's either one thing or the other.

"But I do see him becoming more important after Christmas when the games become a bit thick and fast and the squad start to deteriorate a little bit. And, to be fair, with the current state of the squad where we've got so many injuries, he might actually make an appearance sooner than you think.

"I think playing Humphreys over him shows that they're trusting him more than Sambo. I think Parker wants Humphreys to be in a position where he can play multiple positions at any given point, and I think that players like Sambo do suffer and miss out from that.

"I think he'll be a good signing for us. I think that once he gets his chance he will take it, it's just waiting for that chance. He's got to be patient and keep working hard."

A decision on Shurandy Sambo's future needs to be made sooner rather than later

There are a couple of factors that need to be considered in this case: the player and the team. From his perspective, he needs to play games. This is the age where he should be developing as a footballer. And it's not like he's just some kid that Kompany poached from nowhere - he played 30 Eredivise games two seasons ago.

So he should be pushing for first team action. If it's not going to come at Turf Moor, then alternative options must be explored.

From the team's side of things, they need to make sure they have their plans in place for January. They need to know both what Sambo wants and also what they feel they need. If they feel they need him and he wants to fight for his place, then that's perfect.

If not, then they need to look at avenues to send him down, plus options to replace him. Starting to sort all of those things out now rather than in a month or two would be the sensible thing for Burnley to do.