- Last year’s finish: 2nd in Championship
- First match: Saturday, August 16 10:00am ET @ Tottenham Hostpur
- Where they’ll be after five:
- 5 pts. with 1W, 2D, 2L
Burnley hope to break two promotional ducks this season. The first is their yo-yoing up and down between Premier League and Championship. The second is the general trend over the past two PL seasons which sees the three promoted clubs boomerang back down.
Transfer News
As with the other newly promoted club, Burnley has had a busy summer transfer window. First, let’s note the key departures. Goalkeeper James Trafford’s return to Manchester City was a huge blow; his 30 clean sheets last season was critical to their promotion. Critical defender CJ Egan-Riley and top goal scorer Josh Brownhill also declined to stay with the Clarets. Big losses, those.
And they’ve been trying hard to replace them. Picking up Kyle Walker for $6.8M will provide composure and stability in the back, even if he’s not quite as pacey as he once was. He’s joined by two more defenders: Feyenoord’s Quilindschy Hartman and Ipswich’s Axel Tuanzebe. Up front, the trio of striker Armando Broja (Chelsea), winger Loum Tchaouna (Lazio) and winger Jacob Bruun Larsen (Stuttgart) should make Burnley more offensively potent. The recent signing of Newcastle’s Martín Dubravka should soothe nervous folks wondering who’ll stand between the sticks.
Season Outlook
It’s not the worst first five games you can have, but it’s pretty rough. Adrenaline (and a raft of injuries at Spurs) will drive into an opening day victory, but the next four fixtures will see a healthy dose of reality set in. Sunderland, Manchester United, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest follow, and only two points will come of it. Looking further into the future, Burnley is on my relegation shortlist. I’m not saying they’re the Norwich City of the 2020s, but they could be.
Key Players
- Forward
- Someone in Chelsea’s backroom earned a fat bonus this year for convincing Burnley that Armando Broja was worth paying money for. The Albanian striker has been shuffled off on loan to Fulham and Everton the past two seasons, and produced jack-all.
- Far more promising is Swiss forward Zeki Amdouni, who generated 10g/2a for Benfica last season.
- Last season Dutchman Zian Flemming hit 12g/4a, the most of any forward on the side.
- Midfield
- Lesley Ugochukwu comes on board from Chelsea via Southampton (where he was on loan), and his signing was not a joke.
- Marcus Edwards, a mid-year loan, made his transfer permanent. That was good business, as the $11.4M price tag was reasonable and his contributions solid.
- Jacob Bruun Larsen returns after a year in Germany. He’ll be a welcome addition to the flanks.
- Defense
- It will have to be seen how quickly Walker, Hartman and Tuanzebe gel on defensive duties.
- Bashir Humphreys, yet another Chelsea loanee-made-permanent, appeared 27 times last season before being sidelined by injury. His return will help.
- Center-back Maxime Estève played in all 48 fixtures last year. He’s the one constant in an otherwise mercurial defense.
- Goalkeeper
- Let’s be blunt: Martin Dúbravka is not as good as James Trafford. But he’s a capable keeper.
- German Max Weiß came over from the Bundesliga 2. and will need time before he can start a PL match.
Other Bits
Dapper Scott Parker, the nattiest manager on the touch line, has been given yet another chance to prove he can handle the PL after promotion from the Championship. Will he bottle the job like he did with Fulham and Bournemouth, or survive to a second season?
Other Team Previews
Arsenal
Aston Villa
Bournemouth
Brentford
Brighton & Hove Albion
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Liverpool
Leeds United
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
