Football League World
·19 August 2024
Burnley: Scott Parker makes Wilson Odobert prediction after Spurs transfer
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Football League World
·19 August 2024
The teenager left for Tottenham last Friday.
Burnley manager Scott Parker has predicted that Wilson Odobert, who recently left the club to join Tottenham Hotspur, will have a "bright future" in football.
The man who got the Clarets' return Championship campaign underway with their first goal departed the club shortly before their second league game of the season.
It was reported on Friday morning by Sacha Tavolieri that Odobert was nearing a move to Spurs. That switch was confirmed later that day, with Tottenham reportedly paying £25 million for the 19-year-old.
Premier League newbies Ipswich Town had been previously reported to be interested in the Frenchman, but they ended up missing out on him.
Based off the events of Burnley's game against Luton Town, Odobert was likely to have an outstanding season in the second tier.
Despite the fact that his now former boss had only worked with him for a number of weeks before he left, and that he has already played one season in the top flight of English football in which he racked up five combined goals and assists, Parker sees the recent Turf Moor departee as having a bright career ahead of him at that level.
The Burnley boss didn't want to see the teenager leave, but he believes that what the attacking midfielder showed during their time together were signs of a potentially top player in the future.
He said, via the Burnley Express: "It’s a shame to see Wilson go. He’s obviously a top talent that has been nurtured and brought through here, [but] an opportunity for Wilson at Spurs is an incredible opportunity.
"I spent four weeks working with Wilson and I saw every bit of his quality every day, he was a credit in terms of his professionalism and his quality. Everything about him was superb and everybody at the football club wishes him nothing but all the very best at what is a top club, I understand that.
"We have no doubt he has a real bright future ahead."
Odobert may not be the only star of Parker's to leave the club before the end of the summer. Dara O'Shea has been linked with a move to Brentford, and has now become a target for the Frenchman's former suitors: Ipswich, as per Alan Nixon.
There's a chance that Sander Berge could leave too, with Manchester United retaining an interest in him. Parker admitted that, as a manager, there is always a worry about losing your top players, but that it's not something that is heavily occupying his thoughts.
Because of the quality of the team, and the league that they now find themselves in, the Clarets are vulnerable to transfer attacks. What also doesn't help is the number of players they have, in two senses.
Firstly, the sheer number of squad members that they have means that offloading some options before the end of the window is logical. Unfortunately the ones that people want aren't the ones that Burnley are happy to sell, which brings us to the second part of this equation.
Even though they have plenty of depth, it's not like they have like-for-like replacements at most positions. A lot of the players they have aren't of the calibre of Odobert, O'Shea or Berge. So the size of their playing staff isn't actually that helpful in this situation because they won't easily be able to plug any gaps left by those who might leave.