The Clarets steamrolled the Championship last year under the stewardship of Vincent Kompany, but can they maintain that momentum now they are back in the top flight?
Kompany’s main ambition will be to ensure that his side survive relegation at the first time of asking, and confidence will be high at Turf Moor with the business that the Clarets have conducted (so far) this summer.
Burnley Premier League Odds
Last season: 1st (Championship)
Top Scorer: Nathan Tella (17)
Transfers In: Zeki Amdouni – FC Basel (£16m), James Trafford – Manchester City (£15m), Jordan Beyer – Borussia Monchengladbach (£14m), Dara O’Shea – West Bromwich Albion (£7m), Michael Obafemi – Swansea City (£3.5m), Lica Koleosho – Espanyol (£2.5m), Jacob Bruun Larsen – Hoffenheim (loan), Lawrence Vigouroux – Leyton Orient (free transfer), Nathan Redmond – Besiktas (free transfer)
Transfers Out: Ashley Barnes – Norwich City (free transfer), Will Norris – Portsmouth (free transfer), Matt Lowton (released)
First game: Manchester City (H)
The decision to appoint Vincent Kompany as Burnley manager will have seemed like a risk to most but the former Manchester City defender has certainly transformed the Lancashire outfit from a pragmatic and defensive side under Sean Dyche to an attacking and dynamic outfit.
Kompany’s side blew away the competition last term, finishing top of the pile in the second tier, accumulating 101 points in the process and there will undoubtedly be optimism from all corners of Lancashire after their emphatic journey from the Championship, but the Premier League is a different beast altogether.
Fulham, Leeds United, Wolves and Newcastle all finished in the top half after winning the Championship, and while most Clarets fans will be focusing on survival before anything else, considering the dynamic of the bottom half of the Premier League, there’s no reason to think the Kompany’s side can’t finish safety in midtable.
Starting off at home against Manchester City will give Burnley a good indication of how hard this season will be but no one will have an easy time at Turf Moor.
There are plenty of positives to take from the club’s transfer business so far. Jordan Beyer and Michael Obafemi have completed permanent moves after being on loan. Nathan Redmond arrived to bring some much-needed Premier League experience, while James Trafford joins from Manchester City and 22-year-old Zeki Amdouni has been brought in from Young Boys.
However, last season’s star man Nathan Tella has not returned from Southampton as the Saints feel he could repeat his Championship antics from last season to help the South Coast outfit get back into the Premier League. Burnley could move in for Tella again but at the time of writing, it seems like a move is unlikely.
One thing is for certain – no-one will be relishing a trip to Turf Moor, perhaps not even Pep Guardiola on the 11th August…
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