With Deadline Day right around the corner, our scouts at Football Park have picked out 6 options that Burnley could take a look at bringing in.

Mathías Villasanti

Mathías Villasanti is a box to box midfielder that plays the number 8 role well and can also put in reliable performance when played as a number 6. He has 120 games as a defensive midfielder to his name and 115 as a central midfielder under his belt as well so Scott Parker will be able to utilise him in either position with the experience he has. With Sander Berge leaving the club to join Fulham, Burnley will need a midfielder that can step up this season if they have any intention of making it back up to the Premier League come the end of the campaign.

Villasanti shows great technical capacity alongside a particularly good intelligence of the game. One of his best attributes would be his passes, especially his through balls at short and long range. The Paraguayan is undoubtably one of the best in the Brazilian Série A at breaking the defences with his passing at the moment. His domestic campaign efforts have just seen him being called up to the represent Paraguay for the World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil.

🚨🇪🇪🇵🇾VILLASANTI CONVOCADO

A Seleção do Paraguai divulgou a lista dos convocados para os jogos contra Uruguai e Brasil pelas Eliminatórias da Copa. E o volante Mathias Villasanti está convocado. As partidas acontecem nos dias 06 e 10 de setembro. pic.twitter.com/H9TmDo4Wi7

— Gremio Dompa News 🇪🇪 🇪🇪 🇪🇪 (@DompaNews) August 24, 2024

Across the last 365 days and all competitions that Villasanti has played in, over 90 minutes he has averaged 3.35 tackles, 1.41 interceptions, 1.50 blocks, 1.35 clearances and 86.7% pass completion record. He does have some defensive weaknesses in some areas, like his ariel duelling for example, but other wise he is defensively solid.

Currently at Grêmio, Mathías Villasanti and with his contract set to expire in 2027, Transfermarkt have valued him at €10 million. As Burnley have just come down from the Premier League and received a lot of money through player sells, a deal at this price would be a good one and maybe if their lucky they try and grab him for around €7 million.

Stuart Armstrong

Stuart Armstong is a great versatile plater for a Championship side to have on their books. He is a central midfielder that can also play as a defensive midfield but quite a lot of players can do that. What sets him apart is that he can also produce great performances operating as a winger, either on the left hand side or the right hand side of the pitch.

Whilst playing as a winger, Armstrong prefers to come centrally and use effective switches to the other side of the field or defensive splitting through balls, unlike most wingers that will drive forward in attack and look to whip the ball into the box or cut inside and attempt a curled effort towards goal. Last season in the Championship Armstong recorded five goals and registered seven assists. Per 90 minutes of football and he proved fantastic. Averaging 4.44 shot creating actions, 0.43 non penalty expected goals + assists, 3.60 progressive carries, 8.60 progress passes and 4.44 touches in the opposition’s box. Those stats put him in the high 90% percentile in comparison to the other midfielders in the Championship over the last 365 days.

I still think there are a lot of attractive free agents out there.

Brandon Williams (LB)
Paul Dummet (CB)
Liam Cooper (CB)
John Brooks (CB)
Steven Alzate (CM)
Stuart Armstrong (CM)
Aaron Connolly (ST)

To name a few. I think we are missing a trick not exploring this market still https://t.co/aIS11pGHzF

— TW Football (@TWFootball1867) August 22, 2024

He played a key role in Southampton’s promotion campaign last season, but he was unable to see the fruits of his labour as his contract was not renewed. That means that Burnley will not have to haggle over price with a club as he is currently a free agent. If Burnley and Armstrong’s agent can come to an agreement over the player’s wages, then The Clarets will have picked up a player that can give them around 10 goal contributions a season. That could be the difference between league title and playoff places and the Championship looks to go down to the wire as there are so many clubs that people could see earning promotion.

Willian

He might be 36 years old, but we think Willian could play at a Championship level club for at least one maybe two more years. He has had and excellent career. Willian is a two time Premier League winner, Europa League winner, FA Cup winner and a League Cup winner.

Willian has stated that he wants to carry on playing into his 40s and joining Burnley leaves both parties happy. Willian can remain playing professionally at a decent level and Scott Parker will gain a talented winger that can still give him great qualities in attack.

ABERTO A TRABALHO, MAS DEPENDE! 👔🇧🇷 Willian falou que tá no pique pra jogar até os 40 anos de idade, mas o Brasil não faz parte dos planos. E aí, o brasileiro teria espaço no seu time?

Crédito: BBC pic.twitter.com/SKrXUBgDDK

— TNT Sports BR (@TNTSportsBR) August 29, 2024

Our scouts have highlighted a problem that Burnley could struggle with. They believe that Burnley struggle with creativity in the final third. Willan is a great player to try and amend that problem. Over the past 365 days, Willian has averaged 4.99 shot creating actions, 50.19 passes attempted, an 81.4% pass completion rate and 6.89 progressive passes all within 90 minutes of football.

There will be no need for a transfer fee as Willian is currently a free agent, but it might be a struggle to convince Willian to sign due to his age, most likely high wage demands due to the accolades he has won in the past and the talent that he possesses. However, if Burnley are able to get this deal over the line, then we believe it would be one step closer to them getting their hands on the Championship title at the end of the season as Burnley need a new winger now that Wilson Odobert has joined Tottenham Hotspur.

José Manuel López

Standing at 1.9 meters tall, José Manuel López is a 24 year old Argentinian striker that is showing great promise. He has a great left foot that allows him to shoot from practically anywhere and he does, averaging 3.47 shots over 90 minutes across the last 365 days.

#LPFxTNTsports | ¡Tremendo zurdazo! José Manuel López recibió la pared del Pepe Sand y sacó una volea impecable para meter el 1-1 de Lanús en el clásico. pic.twitter.com/ngoWSmrLqF

— TNT Sports Argentina (@TNTSportsAR) October 16, 2021

Given his height, he is dominant in the air, winning 3.86 ariel duels per 90 but being technically gifted is something that you can attribute to him. That combination is rare to find these days with most players being either one or the other.

López found the back of the net a total of 19 times across all competitions last season as well as providing 6 assists to his teammates at Palmeiras. He has played at the Brazilian topflight club now for over 100 games and has a tally of 29 goals and 6 assists to his name.

Despite Transfermarkt valuing him at €8 million, we believe that any deal is likely going to cost at least €15 million. He is young and with his quality he deserves it a move of that price tag. If Burnley do secure his services and ensure promotion back in the Premier League, José Manuel López could be a very effective striker for them in Burnley’s hopes of not going straight back down.

José Fajardo

This is last suggestion is a risky one, but Burnley have nothing to lose if they sign José Fajardo. Transfermarkt have evaluated the striker from Panama at €1.2 million. Burnley might look for squad depth in this player as his fee is nowhere near an extortionate price for the type of system player that Fajardo is. Coming off the back of an excellent Copa America, José Fajardo score twice for his country, once against the United States and once against Bolivia. Those goals where part of wins that saw him and his country make it to the Quarter-Final stage and put him in tenth place in Panama’s all-time top goalscorers.

¡TRIUNFAZO DE PANAMÁ ANTE ESTADOS UNIDOS! 🇵🇦✅

Los Canaleros derrotaron 2 a 1 a Las Estrellas, gracias a los goles de Blackman y José Fajardo. Con este resultado, el Grupo C queda momentáneamente con tres líderes: Uruguay, el anfitrión y el equipo panameño (todos con 3… pic.twitter.com/mFerqny5EQ

— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) June 27, 2024

He is highly creative and naturally talented in final third of the pitch. He won’t be a be a regular starter, but he would be a great option from off the bench for Scott Parker. Burnley need to get in as much talent as they possibly can in a short period of time. A season in the Championship can be gruelling for any team, even if you have had Premier League experience. Despite currently having three strikers in Lyle Foster, Andreas Hountondji and Jay Rodríguez, there is no certainty that at least one of them won’t get severely injured or that they will be able to manage a 46 game season.

His cost would be exceptionally low for Burnley. The Clarets could possibly strike up a deal for around £500,000 at the cheapest and Fajardo’s salary would be around £250,000 a year but we think this deal would not be for more than two years so the overall cost on José wouldn’t be too much for a Championship level club.