Alan Pace is “hopeful” Mike Tresor will have a role to play for Burnley moving forwards.

Scott Parker's verdict on Burnley's gap to the bottom three won't surprise you

The winger, a big money signing from KRC Genk in 2023, hasn’t made a single league appearance for the Clarets in 17 months.

After making 23 appearances during his debut season with the club, the 26-year-old has been limited to just three cup outings in the subsequent two campaigns.

Tresor hasn’t even featured in a single match day squad in the Premier League this season, although he did impress off the bench in the Carabao Cup ties against Derby County and Cardiff City.

The Burnley Express understands Tresor was free to leave Turf Moor during the summer. However, a move never transpired and the Belgian was subsequently named in Burnley’s 25-man squad list.

His absence continues to spark discussion among Burnley supporters, who got the chance to quiz the club’s chairman during the recent fan forum.

When asked why a player of Tresor’s quality isn’t featuring, Pace told supporters: “Here’s what I will say on two fronts. First of all when it comes to any particulars on a player, it’s not really for me. That’s Scott and the coaching staff that make the decisions on players.

Tresor hasn't featured in a single matchday squad in the Premier League this season (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

“What I can tell you is that I saw Mike today, he’s alive, he’s doing well. He was in practice and he was actually doing quite well.

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“I love Mike. I’m super excited that there’s probably some potential for us on the upside to see some things we didn’t see last year and I’m very, very hopeful. That’s about all I can probably share.

“When there’s an open practice, you guys should go and watch him. I would say keep rooting for him to be at his best and I think him being at his best, he’ll probably get some opportunities to help this team.

“I agree with you, he has tremendous talent and I’d love to see that talent have the opportunity, but that’s not really up to me.”

What has Parker previously said about Tresor?

The Burnley boss has previously admitted Tresor had endured a difficult period with "stop-start" illness and injury problems. He has since recovered from these issues though and has returned to training.

Speaking after Tresor’s cup cameo over Cardiff in September, Parker admitted the wide man could be part of his thinking for the league games.

“I definitely think he can, for sure. He did really well,” he told the Burnley Express.

“An opportunity fell for Mikey for 15 minutes and he came on and again showed his quality, so I think he was a real plus.

“Coming off the bench, he created a couple of good chances, had a couple of good chances himself and brought a bit of energy into it and you see his quality as well.”

But since then, Tresor hasn’t been seen.

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