Football Season Guide

Despite a rather slow start to last season, Burnley comfortably secured promotion by spring and picked up 101 points – the biggest total since Leicester’s 102 in the 2013/14 campaign. Under Vincent Kompany they played an attractive, possession-based style of football which attracted praise from fans, opponents and neutrals. In fact, Burnley boasted both the best attack with 87 goals scored and the best defence with 35 goals conceded in 46 matches. Top scorer Nathan Tella (17 goals) departed the team in the summer, as his loan deal has come to an end, with Burnley trying to sign him on a permanent deal ahead of next season. New signings Dara O'Shea and Zeki Amdouni could be brought straight into the starting XI, as Burnley beefed up both their defence and attack. The Clarets signed talented goalkeeper James Trafford, but Arijanet Muric is expected to retain the spot between the posts for now. O'Shea will start alongside a solid Jordan Beyer at centre-back, while Amdouni, who was the joint-top scorer in last season’s Europa Conference League with seven goals, will compete with Jay Rodriguez for the No.9 spot in Kompany’s 4-2-3-1. Having recruited Anass Zaroury, Manuel Benson and Josh Cullen from his home country of Belgium, Kompany will introduce to the Premier League three exciting players, who stood out last season in the Championship and could step up next term in the top-flight. Meanwhile, Burnley have been sweating over securing Tella on a permanent deal. The Clarets need to either bring back last season’s top scorer or replace him with a player that could fill in his boots in 2023/24. Failing to strengthen their attack could prove costly.