"Puzzling" - Burnley FC links with ex-Southampton FC star questioned | OneFootball

We asked our Burnley fan pundit for his views after his side were linked with Stuart Armstrong

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...

Burnley have been told to avoid a move for Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Stuart Armstrong after it was reported that Scott Parker was keen to bring the former Southampton man to Turf Moor.

It was reported by Alan Nixon that the Clarets are keen to sign the 32-year-old, despite the midfielder only joining MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps in September.

Armstrong left English football in the summer after six years with Southampton, which culminated in the Saints winning the Championship play-off final in May, and Parker appears keen to add experience to his squad this month.

Ashley Barnes was re-signed from Norwich City at the beginning of January and the likes of John Egan and Joe Worrall were also signed by Parker in the summer, showing that experience is something that Parker desires for his side to win promotion.

32-year-old Jonjo Shelvey has also recently joined Burnley, but the Clarets have been warned against a deal for Armstrong.

Burnley told to avoid a deal to sign Stuart Armstrong

We asked our Burnley fan pundit, Will Lancaster, for his thoughts after it emerged Burnley were linked with Armstrong, and it's clear he feels it wouldn't be a good fit for the club.

Speaking to Football League World, Will said: "I think the Armstrong links are definitely puzzling.

“We’ve got enough midfielders who can play in that 10. We’ve got Zian Flemming, Josh Brownhill and Aaron Ramsey when he returns from injury and Hannibal has shown he can play there too, so I’m not sure we need anyone to fit in behind the striker, which is where I imagine Armstrong would play.

“If we were to use him out wide, he’s quite old now and lost his legs a little bit, and we’ve got Koleosho, Jaidon Anthony and Jeremy Sarmiento as well as Manuel Benson, hopefully returning from injury, and Ramsey can play there as well.

“I just don’t know where Scott Parker would use him really. Obviously, the experience would be crucial, as seen with the signing of Ashley Barnes, because it just brings that promotion know-how to the club, but he’s in the MLS after a season in the Championship last year, so I just don’t see the logic in it.

“I’d be keen to avoid that sort of signing because it doesn’t show much forward planning and while there’s a certain amount of experience you need, I feel that we’ve got that in the squad now.

“To sign Armstrong would be a bit of an odd one, and I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

Signing Stuart Armstrong would be a risk for Burnley

Armstrong has a wealth of experience in English football, but it would be a strange move to bring him back from the MLS at this stage of his career.

You can understand why Parker wants to sign players with Championship experience, but with the likes of Barnes, Egan, Worrall and Shelvey on their books, they probably have enough, and these are players who won't be much help in a couple of seasons' time.

If Burnley were to sign Armstrong and then win promotion to the Premier League, it would leave the former Celtic man in a difficult position, and he could well end up being released, like he was at Southampton last summer.

On the flip side, Armstrong performed well for the Saints last season and started 33 Championship games, registering five goals and seven assists, so you can certainly see why it could be an attractive signing for Parker.

One thing is for certain, and that Armstrong would bring a wealth of experience, but it's difficult to see where he fits into the starting team with so much quality and depth in Burnley's squad currently, and he runs the risk of struggling for game time.