Why Burnley shouldn’t have handed Peter Crouch his Premier League return
Burnley have signed Stoke City striker and Premier League legend Peter Crouch on a loan deal for the rest of this season. In that deal, the Clarets frontman Sam Vokes goes to the other side and will be playing for the Potters.
Despite all his experience in the league, Sean Dyche’s men in no way should have accepted the former Tottenham striker. The 6’7” target man has spent the better part of the last eight years at the Bet 365 stadium, and with him struggling to find the net in the Championship this season, it looks like Stoke City were ready to move on anyway.
However, while his experience does make him a good target for Burnley, the 38-year-old won’t be the right fit for the Clarets, considering his age and lack of pace. Crouch has played just over 461 games in the Premier League scoring 106 goals and is one of only 26 players to ever hit that mark in the Premier League.
In spite of all that and the 38-year-old’s ability to tower over his opponents, any replacement for Sam Vokes should be someone younger than 30 years old.
Burnley has been linked with a move for Birmingham City striker Che Adams according to the Daily Echo, but the move didn’t materialize.
Vokes, on the other hand, has also struggled for goals this season, scoring just 4 in 28 appearances, with his last goal coming nearly in the last week of November. It is probably one of the main reasons why Dyche allowed to let the Welshman go.
The Clarets need a bonafide goal-scorer, but in no way is Peter Crouch their man, as the former Liverpool, Southampton and even Portsmouth striker has struggled to hit double figures during his time in the Premier League. The 38-year-old has only done that on three separate occasions in the Premier League, finishing his last five seasons with five, seven, zero, eight and seven goals.
It not only shows Peter Crouch’s inevitable decline but at the same time, but also epitomises how the 38-year-old isn’t the man to save Burnley’s blushes. However, now with the deal going through and the striker arriving at the club, Dyche needs to make sure that his playing time is managed well and he is used when the need is a must.
