Lee Hendrie identifies potential Burnley FC promotion issue | OneFootball

The former Aston Villa and England man believes Burnley's lack of a proven goalscorer could hold them back.

Lee Hendrie believes Burnley are lacking a proven Championship goalscorer, which could ultimately hold them back in the second tier’s promotion race.

The Clarets missed the chance to go top of the Championship when they drew 1-1 with West Brom at Turf Moor on Tuesday night.

The responsibility to lead the line has fallen on Zian Flemming on several occasions this season and, although he scored the only goal for Scott Parker’s men on Tuesday, he isn’t really a natural striker.

With Lyle Foster picking up an injury late on after coming off the bench, it could become something of a problem position for Parker over the next few weeks.

Burnley brought veteran frontman Ashley Barnes back to the club in January to help share the burden, but they still lack somebody who is a proven, consistent goalscorer at Championship level.

Lee Hendrie believes Burnley are short of a proven striker

Having still only conceded a remarkable 11 league goals, Burnley’s success hasn’t really been built upon scoring goals this season.

That scarcely believable defensive record has them firmly in contention for the automatic spots, but the club and the fanbase will not want to be left wondering what could have been at the end of the season.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Hendrie suggested that if Burnley had a proven goalscorer in their ranks, it would help cement them as a near-perfect outfit for the second tier.

The former Aston Villa and England man said: “I did feel that they needed a striker to be honest. I felt Burnley needed to get a centre-forward in the building. They’ve got Lyle Foster and he’s picked up injuries, and then obviously there’s Zian Flemming, but for me, he’s not a centre-forward, he’s more of a number 10. When he was at Millwall, that’s where he scored all his goals and was so effective.

“So yes, for how good Burnley have been defensively, if they had more of a proven goalscorer, you’d feel that would have made life a little bit easier in the Championship, because I think they’re not far off the complete side.

“They’re strong defensively, with the goalkeeper, the midfield areas, and obviously have good wide players. I think that (a striker) was the piece they missed from the jigsaw to be honest. That’s what you just feel might come and bite them on the backside.

“They’re still in the mix and still capable, they’ve got Ashley Barnes back in with his experience, but you do feel that while Ash does score goals, he’s more of a link player. They haven’t got that fox in the box who can get them double figures, which will be a disappointment for Burnley and Scott Parker.”

Burnley could be in an even stronger position with a proven striker

While Burnley’s success has been centred around their watertight defence so far this campaign, it’s hard to shake the feeling that, with a little more firepower to call upon to lead the line, they could be in an even stronger position at this stage of the season.

Midfielder Josh Brownhill is currently the only man in Parker’s squad to have surpassed double figures for league goals. Former Millwall man Flemming has eight league goals to his name, but after that, Jaidon Anthony is the club’s next highest scorer with just three league goals.

The Clarets have at least had 21 different scorers in the league this season (higher than any other second-division side), so it’s fair to say that their ability to share goals around has saved them to some extent.

Their current tally of 50 league strikes is the lowest of anyone in the top four and you can’t help but feel if they had a genuine goal poacher, then some of their 15 draws could have been turned into more favourable results.

With nine games of the Championship season remaining, and just four points separating the top three, it looks like being extremely fine margins that decide who returns to the Premier League.