On Friday the 11th of August, Burnley will kickstart their maiden Premier League campaign under Vincent Kompany. The Clarets, after another summer of impressive recruitment, will aim to play the same football in England's top flight as that of which got them promoted from the Championship on over a century of points.
A busy pre-season schedule has given Kompany's side plenty of minutes out on the grass to continue to work on his fast-paced, attacking football philosophy, with games at home against Burton and Sheffiled Wednesday before travelling to Europe to face Genk, Real Betis and Benfica.
This Saturday represents the Clarets final pre-season fixture with a game against FSV Mainz 05 in Germany. So far, Burnley have only lost the one fixture against Genk with impressive results also recorded against Champions League quarter-finalists Benfica and La Liga's Real Betis.
Last season, Kompany exceeded all expectations in Lancashire as he turned Burnley into the best attacking and defensive side in the league. The Clarets scored an impressive 87 goals while conceding just 35, in a season in which they lost just 3 times in a league considered to be one of the most competitive on the planet.
With promotion rapped up in early April with a 2-1 victory over Middlesborough at the Riverside, Kompany has had plenty of time to look ahead to this season, as he makes his Premier League managerial debut against his former club Manchester City in just under a week's time.
Incomings & Outgoings
When Kompany first arrived in Lancashire, he oversaw the recruitment of some fine young talents of which all significantly contributed to the Clarets return to Premier League.
However, with the majority being loanees, this summer saw a number return to their parent clubs. This includes Taylor Harwood-Bellis, a loanee from Manchester City, who played at the heart of Burnley's defence alongside Jordan Beyer.
The 20 year-old centre-back was adept with the ball at his feet and complimented Kompany's style of building from the back. However, with the season drawing to a close, Harwood-Bellis' time at Burnley came to a close with the player returning to the Treble Winners amid interest from Leeds United and West Ham.
Another player to return to their parent club was 21 year-old Dutch left-back Ian Maatsen. Maatsen particularly impressed in Lancashire for his attacking nature from the full back position with the player also able to play in the left-wing position and number ten role, as he notched up four goals and six assists across 39 appearances in the Championship.
The last loanee to return to their club was Southampton's Nathan Tella. Tella, arguably, made the most significant contribution to Burnley's swift return to the top flight with the player scoring 17 league goals and assisting five. The future of Tella is unclear currently with Southampton yet to make a decision over his future on the South Coast, with numerous Premier League clubs including Burnley interested in picking up the attacker.
While Burnley fans may have felt disappointment at some of their loanees returning, the club has acted swiftly to bring in a number of high calibre players to aid Kompany in building a squad ready to compete at the top table of English football.
The Clarets have so far made seven permanents signings as well as making the loan deals of centre-back Jordan Beyer and attacker Michael Obafemi permanent.
Jordan Beyer joins Burnley for a fee of £13 million from German side Borussia Mönchengladbach and signs a four-year deal after heavily impressing throughout his loan spell at Turf Moor. Meanwhile, Obafemi joins for a fee of £3.5 million from Swansea City after a brief six month loan spell at the end of last season.
In regards to the brand new arrivals at Burnley, the most expensive arrivals have been that of goalkeeper James Trafford and striker Zeki Amdouni for fees of £19 million and a reported £17 million respectively. 20 year-old Trafford joins Burnley from Manchester City after being the first choice goalkeeper at Bolton in League One and also England U21s' number one for their triumph at the U21 Euros, in which he saved a penalty in the final to ensure England won the tournament.
Meanwhile, Amdouni is another young arrival at the age of 22 with the Swiss International earning a move from FC Basel after an impressive season saw him make 16 goal contributions for the side as well as three in four matches at the U21s Euros. The young striker will be expected to compete with Wout Weghorst for the number nine role, after the departure of Ashley Barnes.
On the wings, Kompany has also recruited with former Southampton player Nathan Redmond, 29, joining on a free transfer after his contract at Turkish side Besiktas expired. In addition, Jacob Bruun Larsen, 24, is the most recent arrival, joining on a loan deal from TSG Hoffenheim.
Elsewhere, 24 year-old centre back Dara O'Shea has been signed for £7 million from West Brom on a 4 year-deal to most likely provide competition for Beyer and 21 year-old Burnley staple Ameen Al-Dakhil.
Kompany has also added increased depth to his squad with the signing of Lawrence Vigourouz from Leyton Orient to most likely be third choice keeper behind the number one contenders of new arrival James Trafford and last season's first choice Arijanet Muric, while 18 year-old winger Luka Koleosho from RCD Españyol is one for the future.
Additions may still be made to Kompany's side, with reinforcements needed in the full back positions, principally the left -back role after the departure of Ian Maatsen and right-back Matthew Lowton, who last season was on loan at Huddersfield.
Overall, Burnley's summer of incomings and outgoings can largely be considered a huge success, with the arrival of numerous players that will add quality to Kompany's side in all areas of the pitch, with attacking and defensive reinforcements all signed to give Kompany's Clarets the best shot at a successful Premier League campaign.
Strongest starting XI
Starting 11: James Trafford (GK), Connor Roberts, Ameen Al-Dakhil, Jordan Beyer, Dara O’Shea, Josh Cullen, Josh Brownhill, Nahan Redmond, Johan Gudmundsson, Anass Zaroury, Zeki Amdouni
Bench: Arijanet Muric (GK), Jack Cork, Vitinho, Jacob Bruun-Larsen, Michael Obafemi, Scott Twine, Manuel Benson, Hjalmar Ekdal, Wout Weghorst
Manager
Former Manchester City player and club legend Vincent Kompany has completely revitalised the Clarets. With Kompany at the helm and former Manchester City player Craig Bellamy by his side as assistant manager, the Lancashire club have gone through a football revolution.
Kompany has transformed Burnley from a defensive, 'park the bus' team into one of English football's most exciting sides. Burnley fans now look forward to their side providing enthralling entertainment rather than the 'points on the board' philosophy of the Sean Dyche era.
However, Kompany has been aided by significant and much increased investment compared to what Dyche received, with astute and impressive recruitment taking place across the club, most of it overseen by Kompany himself.
Particularly smart investments have been Ameen Al-Dakhil, who at the age of just 21 has become a staple in Burnley's backline while Josh Cullen and Jordan Beyer have also become two of Burnley's most important players.
Kompany has also constructed a very young side which provides much promise for the future with the average age of the squad just 24.7. With Kompany at the helm, in just his second season in English football, Burnley can look forward to a season of fast-paced fluid football.
The Talking Points
Burnley's progressive football to be put to the test
One of the big talking points ahead of the new season for Burnley is whether they will be able to play the same, expansive and forward thinking football that they played for all of last season in the Championship.
Last season in the FA Cup, Burnley were drawn against Man City and attempted to go to the Etihad and play in the same expansive fashion as they were doing in the Championship. However, the Clarets were quickly picked apart with full time result being a 6-0 humbling, and a stern reminder that they will have to be better defensively against English football's top sides.
However, with the arrivals of promising players such as James Trafford, Dara O'Shea and the permanent arrival of Beyer, Kompany will be hoping that his side have what it takes to keep a tight ship at the back.
Wegwhorst to lead the line?
One area of debate regarding any potential Burnley line up is the questions surrounding the future of Wout Weghorst. There is no question about the quality of the striker, but primarily whether he can adapt to Kompany's progressive system.
Wegwhorst is know for being a powerful presence in the box, however he largely struggled throughout his loan at Manchester United, with the player finding it difficult to play in a more possession based system.
In addition, another area of concern for Kompany when selecting Wegwhorst is how he will be received by the fans. The Clarets supporters still clearly hold grudges over the Dutchman, with the player being booed during his appearance against Genk in pre-season, due to the fact that he left the club on loan in January 2022 when they were in the midst of a relegation battle.
For Wegwhorst, a return to Burnley represents an opportunity to prove himself in the Premier League, however the player would have to take to life quickly in Lancashire to win the Burnley fans back over.
Stick or twist, Muric or Trafford?
A final headache for Kompany to solve will be whether to keep his faith in Arijanet Muric as first choice goalkeeper or hand the number one shirt to the new arrival James Trafford.
Muric played an important role for Burnley last season in the Championship, with the 24 year-old Swiss international making 41 appearances across all competitions for the Clarets in a season in which they conceded just 35 goals and kept 19 clean sheets.
However, due to the arrival of Trafford from Manchester City, the club in which Muric also joined from, his spot in the first team is by no means guaranteed.