Marcus Edwards gets Burnley star tag but ‘first-class' man has proven more useful | OneFootball

It's been a superb campaign from the Clarets man 😍

Burnley secured promotion to the Premier League with a gritty 2-1 win over nearest challengers Sheffield United on Monday evening, with Scott Parker's men being the strongest side in the division in 2025 - and one man flying slightly under the radar has been a big part of their final push to the finish line.

The Clarets' 2-1 win over Norwich City just under two weeks ago saw them go momentarily top of the table, and with the pressure setting in, Sheffield United's shock loss to Plymouth Argyle really put fans in the mood, going five clear of the Blades with just four games to go. A win over Watford on Friday edged them closer to the promised land, and knowing a win over Chris Wilder's men would bring them back to the top-flight.

There have been a multitude of reasons for their continued hot-streak, with a watertight defence being one of them. And although their attack is scoring more and new loan signing Marcus Edwards is taking the plaudits as their star man, it's season-long loanee Jaidon Anthony who has proven more useful than his teammate.

Jaidon Anthony has slowly become Burnley's best asset on the wings

Anthony joined from Bournemouth on loan in the final days of the season when Burnley's squad was ravaged by clubs across the continent. Wilson Odobert, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Scott Twine and Anass Zaroury were all sold on, and the Clarets needed a winger to come into their ranks - though Jeremy Sarmiento, who joined on loan from Brighton, was seen as the bigger 'catch'.

Anthony got off to a flier on his Burnley debut, notching an assist against local rivals Blackburn Rovers - and although it took him some time to score his first goal, he's slowly grown more and more into the mould at Turf Moor.

Playing consistently under Scott Parker - who had him at Bournemouth - Anthony missed out on a lot of football the year prior whilst on loan at Leeds, and naturally he took time to get to scratch in east Lancashire.

But his form recently has been second to none. In fact, his last 12 games have garnered four goals and four assists, picking up his form at just the right time as those around the Clarets have crumbled - and he's become absolutely indispensable to Parker, not only for his contributions, but for his work-rate, never-say-die attitude and consistency that have seen the club march on - which has meant all the better with reports that his stay at Turf Moor has been confirmed after an obligation upon promotion for a fee in the region of £8million.

Marcus Edwards is the 'star' but Anthony has proved much better

There is no doubting that Edwards' arrival has seen Anthony have more of the ball. Oftentimes, in the first half of the campaign, Anthony lined up on the right-hand side and struggled to stamp his mark on games, with Burnley's left-hand side being a real issue in terms of finding a nailed-on starter.

Luca Koleosho has been in and out with injuries, Sarmiento hasn't shone as much as Anthony and even Hannibal Mejbri was tried on the left, with Manuel Benson unable to keep fit on the right to allow Anthony his space on the left.

Edwards' arrival has solved two problems in one, and he was billed as arguably the highest-profile signing of the entire campaign in the Championship. However, the Sporting Lisbon winger, for all of his past endeavours, has only recorded two goal contributions in the Championship - with Anthony having eight in that period.

Burnley fans will be delighted that Anthony has confirmed his loan spell with the Clarets go up - so they'll have at least another year of watching the Englishman strut his stuff at Turf Moor.