Burnley FC's club record transfer and whether Alan Pace could break that in January | OneFootball

Burnley are looking to bolster their squad this month but perhaps won't get close to their record purchase

Promotion is the ultimate goal this season for Burnley, and Chairman Alan Pace proved in the 2022/23 season that he will back a manager in the transfer market when there's so much at stake.

Pace invested heavily in January 2023 to get Vincent Kompany's Burnley side over the line, and while current boss Scott Parker will be hoping he receives similar treatment, it seems unlikely Pace will break the back this time around.

He will certainly back Parker, and has done so already by sanctioning the arrivals of Oliver Sonne, Ashley Barnes and Jonjo Shelvey to an already bloated squad, but none of those have required him to invest heavily.

Perhaps he's learned his lessons from overly backing Kompany, to the point where the Clarets had spent an eye-watering nine figures in transfer fees over two season, and Burnley's summer fire sale perhaps hinted that the club are still paying for that overinvestment.

Here, we take a look at who Burnley's record signing is and whether Pace could try and break that record this month...

Burnley got little return on investment for Zeki Amdouni

Burnley spent almost £16m to sign Amdouni from Swiss side Basel back in the summer of 2023, and it's fair to say that his Turf Moor impact was minimal as he struggled to adapt to English football and a new style of play.

There was no doubting that Amdouni showed flashes of brilliance at times, but he didn't do it often enough for the Clarets last season, and his underperformance, alongside other big-money signings, undoubtedly played its part in Burnley being relegated.

Having had a taste of the highest level, and also playing regularly on the international stage, Amdouni unsurprisingly didn't fancy a season in the Championship and departed for Benfica over the summer, although only on an initial loan deal.

The Clarets received a €2m loan fee and Benfica have the option to purchase Amdouni for €20m in the summer, which would see Burnley stand to make a bit of profit on the deal, so it could be argued that he move wasn't as big of a flop as it may seem.

Burnley fans would undoubtedly have been happy to lose out on that minimal profit in exchange for him helping them survive last season, but his on-field performances didn't justify his heavy price tag, so they'll be glad to have at least recouped their investment.

Alan Pace likely won't come close to breaking Burnley's transfer record this month

While you can never say never in the transfer window, the chances of Burnley breaking that Amdouni record this month are minute.

Mistakes of windows prior are unlikely to be repeated, and ultimately it won't be financially viable for Burnley to make that kind of investment in the Championship, evidenced by the fact most of thier recent signings have been frees or loans.

It's still expected that Burnley will spend some money this season to bring in an attacker, with Morgan Whittaker of particular interest to them, and if it isn't him who they sign, then it will likely be someone else.

A series of loan to buy signings over the summer suggest finances are tight at Turf Moor as the Clarets try to balance the books, so Pace spending huge money this window is highly unlikely.

Perhaps if it looked much more likely that Burnley would be playing in the Premier League next season, then he would, but the promotion race is so open this season that grave uncertainty remains.