"We are missing" - Burnley FC backed to plot fresh Plymouth Argyle raid in January | OneFootball

Burnley were in for Morgan Whittaker in the summer, and they're expected to rekindle their interest

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…

After failing in a series of summer attempts, Burnley have been backed to relaunch their interest in Plymouth Argyle's Morgan Whittaker once the January transfer window rolls around.

The Clarets are primed to seek attacking reinforcements in the next window after struggling in front of goal under Scott Parker, who has received vocal fan criticism for a perceived pragmatic tactical approach.

Burnley find themselves second in the Championship table after 17 matches – albeit teams below them have games in hand – but the underlying numbers and sincere goalscoring woes do offer doubt as to whether Parker has what it takes to guide this team over the line and back to the promised land.

They have been defensively imperious, having already kept 11 clean sheets. They're currently conceding just 0.4 goals per game, which represents the division's strongest defensive record (FotMob).

However, only six teams have accumulated a lower xG than Burnley's lowly return of 17.4. An average of 1.2 goals scored per game, which is the league's 10th best, indicates that the Clarets are actually overperforming somewhat in front of goal, as they're also registering just 3.5 shots on target on average – the eighth worst of any Championship side.

The chance creation in this Burnley side is insufficient at the minute, and many Clarets supporters will argue that lies with the way in which they're set up by Parker. However, the concern of just where the goals are going to come through has to be addressed, as central midfielder Josh Brownhill is currently the only player at the club to have scored more than twice in league action.

Burnley's summer transfer interest in Plymouth Argyle's Morgan Whittaker

Summer signings such as Andreas Houtoundji and Zian Flemming are yet to really spark life into their respective Turf Moor careers, although it was clear that Morgan Whittaker was a chief target throughout the window.

According to reports, Burnley had been "poised" to agree a deal in the dying embers of the summer window. It's believed that the Clarets saw an initial offer for Whittaker rejected before returning with an improved bid, which was expected to be given the green light.

However, despite significant speculation linking him away from Home Park, Whittaker ended up staying put at Plymouth, although he's been unable to rekindle his best form thus far. The 23-year-old scored 19 Championship goals to keep Argyle in the division last term, but he's struggled to get going under Wayne Rooney.

At this moment in time, Whittaker has found the back of the net on just three occasions and has recently become the subject of criticism from supporters, who are beginning to wish that the club had accepted an offer from Burnley in the summer.

Burnley backed to go again for Plymouth's Morgan Whittaker in January

Fittingly, Burnley have been backed to go again for Whittaker in January by our resident Clarets fan pundit, Josh Lucas.

In light of the Lancashire outfit's well-documented struggles in the final third, we asked Josh to name his number one choice for a January striker signing and he went with Whittaker, even though the former Swansea City forward predominantly plays wide-right.

"Obviously it's quite clear we need a new striker," Josh told Football League World.

"Don't get me wrong, [Jay] Rodriguez has done a job but it's clear he's not up to the speed anymore to be starting, we've tried [Zian] Flemming there but he's not exactly a striker, [Lyle] Foster is injured.

"We are missing someone who can be clinical in the final third. We were linked with Morgan Whittaker and that didn't materialise so we ended up getting Flemming on loan, but I can see us going back in for him due to the way Plymouth are playing and knowing that we do need another striker.

"Obviously we're linked with Evan Ferguson but I feel that's a bit of a nothing link because Fulham and Leicester are also interested.

"I feel like Morgan Whittaker will still be the player we go for."