Burnley were relegated straight back to the Championship after a poor 2025/26 Premier League campaign. But could they return at the first time of asking?
The Clarets made a promising start to the season, but utterly collapsed to pick up just one win and 12 points in their final 29 games — finishing 19th and 19 points from safety.
As a result, Scott Parker left by mutual consent, with Belgian coach Nicky Hayen now in the Turf Moor dugout. The former Genk and Club Brugge manager primarily employs a 4-2-3-1 system, focused on patient build-up, overloads in wide areas and pragmatic defending, which could make him a natural fit for Burnley’s squad.
Why are Burnley among the favourites to return to the Premier League next season?
Deep pockets
Burnley are yet to make too many waves in the market this summer in terms of incomings. Their only serious business so far was making Florentino Luis’ loan from Benfica permanent and bringing in fellow defensive midfielder Ugo Raghouber from Lille.
However, the Clarets should have some very deep pockets to withdraw money from in the final few weeks of the summer transfer window.
Florentino is being linked with an immediate return to the Premier League, and it would take a substantial fee to get him out of Turf Moor, given Burnley paid more than £20million to make his loan permanent.
What’s more, Burnley have already recouped a lot of cash from selling wantaway stars following their relegation, with Maxime Esteve, Loum Tchaouna, Jaidon Anthony and Luca Koleosho each fetching north of £11m. Meanwhile, Lesley Ugochukwu has joined Galatasaray courtesy of a £3m loan fee.
That, coupled with parachute payments and TV money from the Premier League, gives Hayen a war chest with which to strengthen his squad and make another tilt at top-flight promotion.
| Transfer | Player | From/To |
| In | Florentino Luis Ugo Raghouber Lluc Castell | Benfica Lille Espanyol |
| Out | Maxime Esteve Loum Tchaouna Jaidon Anthony Luca Koleosho Lesley Ugochukwu Martin Dubravka Owen Dodgson Quilindschy Hartman Oluwaseun Adewumi Axel Tuanzebe Vaclav Hladky James Ward-Prowse | RB Leipzig Coventry City Brentford Paris FC Galatasaray Tottenham Stockport Espanyol Hertha Berlin Released Released West Ham (End of loan) |
Attacking depth
Burnley’s last promotion campaign was founded on a formidable, record-breaking defensive record. This time, however, it could be the other end of the pitch that fuels their rise.
As it stands, last season’s top scorer Zian Flemming is still wearing a Claret jersey. There is time for that to change, and the player has been open about wanting to return to the top flight. But equally, Hayen has expressed his desire to keep the Dutch striker, who registered 11 goals in 29 Premier League appearances last season, and 12 goals overall. A very impressive record in a relegated side.
While Hayen will likely stick to his 4-2-3-1 blueprint, there is also very good reason for him to experiment with other formations that get more strikers on the pitch. Burnley are blessed with great depth in this position right now, with Lyle Foster and Armando Broja still at the club and primed to produce in the second tier. It also remains to be seen what happens to Zeki Amdouni.
Does Hayen drop Flemming into a No.10 role to facilitate getting another of his goalscorers onto the pitch?
Behind the 9s, Burnley still have Hannibal Mejbri, Marcus Edwards and Jacob Bruun Larsen, who produced 10 direct goal involvements in the Premier League last season.
That’s a level of attacking depth few in the Championship can compete with, and as mentioned, Burnley are yet to really dip into the transfer market to add to it.
Three areas of concern for Burnley:
- Goalkeeper depth: Max Weiss stands as Turf Moor’s sole registered senior goalkeeper, having managed just seven appearances across all competitions last season.
- Left-back: Lucas Pires remains their only senior left-back option, having spent last season sitting behind Quilindschy Hartman in the pecking order.
- Winger options: While strong on the left, Marcus Edwards is Burnley’s only natural option on the right. Burnley will need to either make a signing or shift one of their other forwards out of position.