Burnley

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Championship promotion hopefuls Burnley have claimed a significant coup with the loan signing of former England youth international Marcus Edwards from Sporting.

The 26-year-old was linked in the past to top six teams in the Premier League, but it seems like his stock has fallen recently, not playing for the Portuguese side since November.

Club insiders have said the appeal of working under ex-Tottenham coach Scott Parker was the major contributing factor in Edwards joining the Turf Moor outfit.

Having also brought in Jonjo Shelvey, Ashley Barnes and Oliver Sonne during the transfer window, Edwards might well be the final arrival this winter.

In terms of outgoings, defender John Egan looks like he may be heading to Hull and other outgoings are not currently anticipated, although a big bid for one of the squad could change that.

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Northern Ireland internationals Danielle Maxwell and Louise McDaniel have left Women's Premiership champions Cliftonville to join Burnley.

Both players played a key role Cliftonville's two title winning seasons in 2022 and 2024.

Maxwell managed 11 league goals and McDaniel netted the opener in the 5-0 Irish Cup final win against Lisburn Rangers as the Reds won a domestic treble last season and enjoyed an 'invincible' Women's Premiership campaign.

Winger Maxwell, who previously had a short stint at Blackburn Rovers, won the Women's Premiership Player of the Year award in 2023 and 2024

The 22-year-old has won 16 caps for Northern Ireland, scoring two goals.

McDaniel joined John McGrady's side in 2021 after spells with Linfield, Hearts and Blackburn Rovers.

The centre midfielder was part of Northern Ireland's Euro 2022 squad and has won 17 caps, becoming first Northern Ireland women's player to score at Windsor Park, when she netted in a 4-0 victory over Latvia in 2021.

The two players will link up with international teammate Brenna McPartlan at the Clarets, who sit third in Women's Premier Division.

"It's a very competitive league and it's a big step for me, but from what I've seen of the club it's very professional," Maxwell told the club's website.

"I'm here to help with goals and assists but ultimately, the most important thing is that the team keeps getting results.

"It's an exciting time at the club with some clear goals in mind and they align with my own ambitions, so I thought it was a really good fit," McDaniel added.

"I spoke to Brenna and she told me everything about the club. Having been here for a few days now it has surpassed my expectations."

Image source, Rex Features

Burnley boss Scott Parker said his side were below par in their 0-0 draw away against Portsmouth.

Parker told BBC Radio Lancashire: "It's a difficult place to come as you can see from their results over the past few weeks.

"They are a different animal at home, an aggressive team who put you under pressure constantly with a real intent and we had to stand up to that.

"That's the one positive because this game could have looked a lot different if we didn't have that resilience about us.

"On the flip side, we weren't at our best. We lacked a little something.

"We knew what was coming and the way they play causes you problems. We couldn't really gain any control and that's down to them. They put us under a lot of pressure but it's a good point."

Burnley boss Scott Parker says his side's defensive strength is "remarkable" amid claims they lack entertainment value.

The criticism has been heightened after the Clarets' highly-anticipated match against fellow title-chasers Leeds United ended in a goalless draw with the second lowest XG of the season.

Burnley have scored the least amount goals of any team in the top six with 36, while league leaders Leeds have the most with 55.

The Clarets have by far the best defensive record across the entire top four divisions, conceding just nine goals in 29 matches.

"It was only a week ago we scored five goals against Plymouth. We didn't score against Leeds and quickly the narrative swings that we're a really boring team," Parker told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"But that was the game, it wasn't a classic.

"What we did manage to do was incredible on the defensive side of things but what we didn't manage to execute was us trying to be a bit of a threat, but we keep working on that."

Tottenham will allow 19-year-old forward Will Lankshear to leave on loan before Monday's transfer deadline, with Burnley, Middlesbrough, West Brom, Cardiff and Luton keen on the England Under-20 international. (Football.London), external

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Portsmouth have lost their past two games and saw their seven-game unbeaten run at Fratton Park ended by Millwall on Tuesday night.

Pompey welcome promotion-chasing Burnley on Saturday afternoon, who are one point off the top two and unbeaten in their past 16 games (W9 D7).

• After remaining unbeaten across their ten league games against Burnley between 1995 and 2010, Portsmouth have since won just one of their past five against the Clarets (D1 L3).

• Burnley have won their past two away league games against Portsmouth and will be looking to win three in succession at Fratton Park for the first time.

• Portsmouth have won each of their past four home league matches and will be looking to win five in a row in the second tier for the first time since February/March 2003 (5).

• Burnley are unbeaten across their past eight away league games (W6 D2), keeping seven clean sheets in the process. The Clarets last enjoyed a longer undefeated run on the road between December 2022 and September 2023 (14 games) during which they were promoted to the Premier League.

• Josh Brownhill has netted nine goals for Burnley in the Championship this season, already his most in a single league campaign in English football. Indeed, his five away goals are also his most in a league season to date.

Burnley are keen on 22-year-old NEC Nijmegen winger Sontje Hansen for a fee of around £3.5m. (Sky Sports), external

Middlesbrough's move for former Leeds midfielder Glen Kamara could be off, with the Finland international, who has also been linked with Sunderland and Burnley, now reportedly ready to move to Saudi side Al Shabab. (Northern Echo, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column.

Image source, Rex Features

Burnley's stunning defensive record this season is a credit to the whole team, says defender Maxime Esteve.

The Clarets have only conceded nine goals in their 29 Championship games and kept 20 clean sheets.

"We worked during pre-season defensively and you see the recovery runs of everyone - the winger, the striker, the midfielder, everyone works on the same thing," Esteve told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"The attitude of everyone is amazing, it's team work."

Burnley held the leaders Leeds to a goalless draw on Monday and are in third place in the Championship table, one point outside the automatic promotion places.

The Clarets visit struggling Portsmouth on Saturday.

"There is the backline when you talk about it defensively but when you see the game, all the players work on the same side," added Esteve.

"If you come back with three points from Portsmouth it's a good point against Leeds so we have to switch on."

Image source, Opta

Monday's uneventful goalless draw between Burnley and Leeds produced the second lowest expected goals [xG] of any Championship match so far this season.

According to Opta, Burnley's four attempts in total added up to an xG of 0.18 while Leeds' eight shots equated to 0.35 xG, creating a total match xG of just 0.53 across the 90 minutes at Turf Moor.

Dan James' 89th-minute strike, which had to be tipped over by Burnley's James Trafford, prevented the stalemate from being the first second-tier clash to end without an effort on target this season.

Despite the drab affair, Luton's 0-0 draw with Preston in Matt Bloomfield's first match in charge of the Hatters earlier this month produced an xG even lower than Monday's top-of-the-table clash - just 0.49 from 11 shots in total.

Notably, November's Steel City derby saw Tyrese Campbell score the winner for Sheffield United against bitter rivals Wednesday with the match's only shot on target from a game which produced a comparatively gluttonous 18 attempts in all.

Along with Sunderland, Burnley are the only Championship side with an unbeaten home record as they prepare to host table-topping Leeds United (20:00 GMT).

The Clarets also boast the best home defensive record with only four goals conceded in their 13 games at Turf Moor.

The visitors are the top scorers in the Championship with 53 goals from their 28 matches. Daniel Farke's side have only failed to score in four league games this season.

• Burnley have won just one of their past five league games against Leeds United (D1 L3), although that sole victory did come during the reverse fixture in September (1-0).

• Leeds United are unbeaten across their past two away league games against Burnley (W1 D1), last enjoying a longer undefeated run at Turf Moor between September 1975 and October 2005 (four games).

• Burnley are unbeaten across their past 13 home league games (W6 D7), conceding just four goals in total across that time. The Clarets last enjoyed a longer undefeated run at Turf Moor between August 2022 and April 2023 (21 games).

• Leeds have lost just two of their past 13 away league games (W5 D6), though have scored just 1.4 goals on average per match during that time.

• Leeds' Joel Piroe has been involved in four goals in his past three away league games (three goals, one assist), more than he had in his previous 17 on the road (three goals).

Image source, Rex Features

Burnley boss Scott Parker has hinted that the Clarets might move some players on before the end of the transfer window - and has not ruled out new signings either.

Ashley Barnes returned to the club early in January, Peruvian full-back Oliver Sonne also arrived and Jonjo Shelvey signed a short-term deal.

Parker has also seen a swathe of players departing on loan, but may not be done yet.

He told BBC Radio Lancashire: "We've still got a biggish squad, plenty of numbers.

"I'm not going to rush into anything, if there is something to be done which could improve us and fit into this group, then for sure we'll try to do that.

"I think we'll be more reactive to how things go with maybe some players leaving and maybe something comes out of somewhere which could be of interest. If so, we'll look at that when it arises."

Newcastle retain an interest in Burnley's English goalkeeper James Trafford, 22. (The I), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column.