Burnley FC: Regret issued over summer departure of "fan favourite" | OneFootball

FLW's Clarets' fan pundit believes that the club should have kept Anass Zaroury for this season

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...

Football League World's Burnley fan pundit believes that the club should have kept hold of Moroccan international winger Anass Zaroury for their Championship promotion challenge this season, rather than sell him to RC Lens in the summer transfer window.

Zaroury joined the Clarets in August 2022 from Belgian Pro League outfit Charleroi, in the hope that he could fire the club back to the Premier League after he had helped Les Zèbres win promotion to their own top-flight in the previous campaign.

The Belgian-born Moroccan international soon became a regular under Vincent Kompany as Burnley won promotion at a canter, and looked set to be a star on the left-wing for the foreseeable future at Turf Moor in the Premier League.

Things soon turned sour for both Zaroury and the football club though, as the Clarets struggled to get to grips with life back in the top-flight, and opportunities in Kompany's starting eleven came at a premium so he joined Hull City on loan in the January transfer window earlier this year.

He returned to a newly-relegated Burnley in the summer after an indifferent spell in East Yorkshire, and looked set to play a part this season under Scott Parker after featuring in the season-opener against Luton Town, but sealed an exit in late August to join Ligue 1 Lens for a reported 9 million euros.

Burnley regret issued over summer loss of Anass Zaroury

Zaroury bagged 10 goals and six assists in 39 appearances in all competitions in his debut season with the Clarets, and won the hearts of supporters for his skilful, tricky wing play, which also meant he won a call-up to the Morocco squad for the 2022 World Cup.

His rapid downfall at Turf Moor was unforeseen after that campaign, but his quality in the second-tier is undoubted, and FLW's Clarets fan pundit, Nathan Rogers, believes that the club should have kept hold of the 23-year-old for this season, yet admits that a departure was probably bound to happen with the arrival of Parker.

“It’s a tough one. I’d probably say yeah, we shouldn’t have sold Anass Zaroury,” Nathan told FLW.

“I would have favoured keeping Anass Zaroury over bringing in the two loan players Jaidon Anthony and Jeremy Sarmiento.

“I think getting one of those and keeping Zaroury would have been the better option.

“He got the club pretty quickly, and the fans fell in love with him a little bit. He became a fan’s favourite.

“For me, it would have been easier for continuity for him to stay in the team and build on good performances to try and get back to being the player he was for us in the first year for us.

“I think he would have been really good in a Scott Parker system. He would have been good at causing a little bit of chaos in the final third, a little bit of magic in the final third.

“On the whole, what I heard from minute one was that he was a Vincent Kompany player.

“He wanted to play for him, and that was the only reason he came to Burnley. When Vincent wasn’t here, he wanted out.

“In hindsight, would I have liked to have kept hold of him? Definitely. Was it even possible? Probably not.”

Zaroury looked set to stay at Burnley this summer

It may not have come as a real shock to many Clarets fans that Zaroury departed in August, given his lack of impact on the team over the last 12 months, but he could certainly have made a real impact in the second-tier this term as Parker looks to lead the club back to the Premier League.

As well as that, a positive interview for the Clarets' club website at the start of August meant that all signs seemingly pointed to him staying in Lancashire for this season.

He said: "It was great to come back and see the players, staff and everyone who works here too. It’s always good to come back here after a little time away.

"Once the new gaffer (Scott Parker) came in, everything’s been good. He’s been clear in what he wants from us, and I think from there on we started working well together, very organised.

"I'm looking forward to the season starting again now, it's very close, and we want to bring Burnley back to where it deserves to be.

"Of course, I have my private ambitions, but I think we just all have one mission, which is to go back up. I will do everything for the team and for myself to try to bring us up."

"I will always be happy when I’m on the pitch at Turf Moor. I’m really thankful and I know that it’s not like every time that you get such good support, even in bad times.

"I really can’t wait to go and play in front of them again."

Zaroury's return to Turf Moor never materialised, as he left the club later that month and is now looking to build his career at the top level in France.

Burnley may well live to regret his departure, but that will hinge on the form of both Jaidon Anthony and Jeremy Sarmiento, who each can be top Championship left-wingers on their day.