"Would be quite the perfect window" - Burnley FC transfer admission issued ahead of January | OneFootball

FLW's Clarets fan pundit has outlined what an ideal January window would look like at Turf Moor

With the January transfer window now just over a week away from commencing, all 24 clubs across the Championship will already be plotting potential moves across the 33-day period until Deadline Day on February 3rd.

Notoriously, the winter window is such a difficult period for clubs to deal with each other, as a result of the limited timeframe, which makes incomings and outgoings crucial, and in some cases, potentially season-defining.

Due to the strong core of established second tier performers among their ranks, Burnley will no doubt appear on the radar of clubs higher up the food-chain as a result of their impressive first half of the season, which has seen them take 44 points from their first 22 outings.

With that in mind, Football League World quizzed our Clarets fan pundit, Will Lancaster, as to what the ideal January window would look like from his perspective.

Burnley urged to maintain the core of promotion-chasing squad

Given the quality that is littered throughout all areas of Scott Parker's squad, it's no surprise that Lancaster has urged Alan Pace to snub all offers they may receive for key men such as Maxime Esteve and club captain, Josh Brownhill.

After previous interest from Everton and West Ham in the French centre-back came to no avail, it was exclusively revealed by FLW last week that Tottenham Hotspur have kept tabs on the 22-year-old defender, although it remains to be seen whether a formal offer will be lodged in the weeks to come.

Meanwhile, it was said that Brownhill was offered to clubs in the Premier League for just £5m last summer, as the 29-year-old is out-of-contract in June after triggering a one-year extension following relegation from the top flight under Vincent Kompany.

So far, the £9m recruit of four years ago from Bristol City leads Burnley's scoring charts with eight goals in 21 appearances, whilst Esteve has been integral in the concession of just nine goals in 22 games, which averages at just 0.4 per game.

That is also down to the work of James Trafford, who has kept 12 clean sheets and played in all-but-one of the 22 league games thus far.

The 22-year-old saw a £16m bid from Newcastle United collapse in the summer, but has also since caught the eye of Ange Postecoglou and the Spurs recruitment team.

Understandably, given the mass amount of summer turnover and their impact on the side, Lancaster has urged continuity to be the buzzword in East Lancashire.

"I think the perfect window wouldn't necessarily be about incomings," Will told Football League World.

"It would be stopping anyone major heading out of the club such as Maxime Esteve, James Trafford and Josh Brownhill, who's been linked with the Premier League and Turkish league in the past few months.

"It's about keeping that core. We've had quite a turnover-full squad in the last few years, especially since relegation from the Premier League under Sean Dyche.

"I think, keeping some sort of core to take us back up would be the ideal window for us, and a bit of continuity."

However, Will has also said the club must not rest on their laurels if any of the aforementioned key names are to depart, with their quality needing to be replaced as soon as possible.

"But, then again, also bringing in that extra bit of quality," Lancaster added. "Maybe someone in central midfield if Brownhill does go, or if he's made it certain that he's not going to sign a new deal.

"Obviously, a striker to fix any goalscoring issues and maybe someone on the wing as well. If Manuel Benson can't return, we need someone on that right wing, as Luca Koleosho, Jaidon Anthony and Jeremy Sarmiento are all right-footed.

"So we need someone to play into that balance, someone left-footed who can cut in from that wing instead of it being so predictable all the time.

"If we got three players in of that mould, and didn't sell any of the core, it would be quite the perfect window for us."

Given the predicament they and so many players find themselves in, Burnley will be braced for one of the most intriguing and pivotal transfer windows in the second tier.

It's been made no secret that the success in the opening months of the campaign have been built on their extremely strong defensive foundations, whilst only scoring 28 goals themselves.

The striking department have also only been responsible for three of those efforts, which means it's not the greatest of surprises to see Oli McBurnie linked with a potential loan move to Turf Moor, having bagged 13 goals during his last campaign at this level with Sheffield United.

However, it is imperative that Parker and Alan Pace have contingency plans in place, even if Brownhill doesn't move on in January, as his goalscoring and creative threat from the middle of the park has been a key asset under Kompany and the new boss, whilst Esteve and Trafford will remain prime targets due to their current ability and future potential.