Burnley won't want to stick around in the Championship for too long, with the Clarets already eyeing up an immediate return to the Premier League, despite the obvious setback of Vincent Kompany leaving for Bayern Munich.
The Clarets must have thought Steve Cooper was the best possible replacement for the out-going Belgian, but after the one-time promotion winner rejected the advances of the relegated side recently, the Lancashire outfit are having to set their sights elsewhere.
They could be prepared to give this two-time promotion winner a chance over the Welshman, despite the manager in question denting his reputation as a boss in his last job post managing in Kompany's native country.
Burnley looking at "innovative" manager
According to football journalist Alan Nixon, via his Patreon, Burnley are also eyeing up the services of Scott Parker as their next permanent boss, with the 43-year-old in dire need of breathing life back into his stuttering managerial career, after a nightmarish recent stint at Club Brugge.
Parker would win just two of his 12 matches in charge during a wretched few months in Belgium, but will be desperate to show to Burnley that was just a blot on his otherwise successful resume, having got Fulham and AFC Bournemouth promoted previously up to the top-flight.
Club managed
Games managed
Wins
Draws
Losses
Club Brugge
12
2
6
4
Bournemouth
55
29
13
13
Fulham
105
37
25
43
Sourced by Transfermarkt
There would be question marks surrounding Parker's suitability for the role if the Clarets did immediately make it back up to the top-flight, having overseen a relegation at Fulham and leaving on bad terms at Bournemouth after a 9-0 defeat to Liverpool, but could be viewed as a perfect short-term fix to the Kompany saga ending.
One described as being "innovative" in his methods by Pep Guardiola, who further praised the "courage" in which his Fulham sides played with, Parker isn't the only manager who could rebuild his slightly tainted reputation with the Clarets, with Frank Lampard also in the running to replace Kompany according to Nixon.
Parker's style as a manager
Often setting up his Cottagers and Cherries sides in an easy-on-the-eye 4-2-3-1 formation, Parker's reputation – at Championship level at least – centres on setting his teams up to play attacking football.
That was far more apparent during his 55-game spell on the South Coast, where the Cherries would bag 91 strikes from all those contests, with the likes of recent Leeds United loanee Jaidon Anthony shining by amassing 15 goal contributions from 47 games along the way to Bournemouth's promotion during the 2021/22 season.
Parker could get the best out of the likes of Manuel Benson then if handed the reins at Turf Moor, therefore, with the tricky winger setting the second-tier alight under Kompany's guidance by picking up a staggering 12 goals from down the right channel himself, before only making eight appearances in the division above and turning goalless.
The former Fulham man could well have been given the nod over Cooper anyway, with his two promotions besting the Welshman's singular effort with Forest, yet those in Lancashire will be aware this is an appointment that comes with plenty of risks attached.
His cursed stint out in Brugge saw football journalist Josh Bunting label his time there as a "disaster", and his track record in the Premier League leaves a lot to be desired equally for a club with immediate top-flight desires, having only won nine of his 52 games in the elite league previously.
Yet, Burnley won't want to leave their disgruntled fans in the dark for too long after Kompany's surprise exit, and Parker might just be what they need in the here and now to jump straight back up to the top division.
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