Burnley 2023/24 season preview: Key players, summer transfers, squad numbers & predictions

  • Burnley finished first in last season's Championship with 101 points
  • The Clarets were relegated in 2022 after six consecutive top-flight seasons
  • 2023/24 will be Vincent Kompany's first season as a Premier League manager
Burnley romped to the Championship title in 2022/23
Burnley romped to the Championship title in 2022/23 / Matt Burt | 90min
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As Burnley prepared for their first pre-season under Vincent Kompany, Jack Cork suffered the same treatment as Yaya Toure.

The new Clarets coach banned birthday cakes from the training ground in one of the first acts of a hugely successful debut campaign at Turf Moor. By the end of the season, Burnley had been moulded by Kompany's will, dramatically changing their playing style to a more patient and possession-based approach which earned first place in the second tier.

Kompany, a four-time champion with Manchester City, will be fully aware that more than a century of points and record goal tallies in the Championship mean little in the Premier League. The season definitely won't start with cake but will there be any celebrations by the end of the campaign?

Here's everything you need to know about Burnley ahead of the 2023/24 season.


Burnley's performance last five seasons

Season

Premier League

FA Cup

EFL Cup

Europe

2022/23*

1st (promoted to PL)

QF

R4

-

2021/22

18th

R3

R4

-

2020/21

17th

R5

R4

-

2019/20

10th

R4

R2

-

2018/19

15th

R4

R3

Europa League playoff

*Burnley played in the Championship during 2022/23.


Summer transfers

Ins:

  • Jordan Beyer (DF) - Borussia Monchengladbach - £11.5m
  • Dara O'Shea (DF) - West Brom - £7m
  • Lawrence Vigouroux (GK) - Leyton Orient - free
  • Zeki Amdouni (FW) - Basel - £15.6m
  • James Trafford (GK) - Manchester City - £15m
  • Nathan Redmond (FW) - Besiktas - free
  • Luca Koleosho (FW) - Espanyol - £2.6m
  • Jacob Bruun Larsen (FW) - Hoffenheim - loan

Outs:

  • Ashley Barnes (FW) - Norwich City - free
  • Lukas Jensen (GK) - Lincoln City - free
  • Lewis Thomas (GK) - Harrogate Town - free

Squad numbers

*Numbers subject to change before end of transfer window

Number

Name

1

James Trafford

2

Dara O'Shea

3

Charlie Taylor

4

Jack Cork

5

Jordan Beyer

6

CJ Egan-Riley

7

Johann Berg Gudmundsson

8

Josh Brownhill

9

Jay Rodriguez

10

Manuel Benson

11

Scott Twine

12

Luca Koleosho

13

Wout Weghorst

14

Connor Roberts

17

Lyle Foster

18

Hjalmar Ekdal

19

Anass Zaroury

20

Denis Franchi

22

Vitinho

24

Josh Cullen

26

Samiel Bastien

27

Darko Churlinov

28

Ameen Al Dakhil

29

Lawrence Vigouroux

30

Zeki Amdouni

34

Jacob Bruun Larsen

44

Dara Costellos

45

Michael Obafemi

49

Arijanet Muric

Key players

Star player

Josh Brownhill
Josh Brownhill recorded a team-high eight Championship assists last season / Fran Santiago/GettyImages

Based on last season, this slot should have been filled by Nathan Tella. However, 17 goals in the Championship persuaded Southampton to spurn Burnley's offers of turning Tella's loan into a permanent deal as the Saints embark upon their own season in the second tier.

If Tella was at the tip of Burnley's attacks last term, Josh Brownhill was the chief creator. Deadly from open play and set pieces, the 27-year-old coupled dexterity with industry, crunching into more tackles than any other teammate last term.


One to watch

KRC Genk v Burnley - Pre-Season Friendly
James Trafford is set to make his competitive debut for Burnley against his former employers Manchester City on the opening day of the new season / Isosport/MB Media/GettyImages

If all add-ons are met, James Trafford will become the third-most-expensive English goalkeeper of all time after joining Burnley from Manchester City for a fee of up to £19m this summer.

England's penalty-saving hero in the triumphant final of this year's under-21 European Championships has never played senior football above League One. However, the 22-year-old has never been short on self-belief and will be itching to prove his worth against his former employers to kick off the Premier League season on Friday.


2023/24 kits

Home kit


Away kit


Third kit


Premier League prediction

Over the previous decade, Norwich City (twice) are the only Championship winners to go straight back down to the second tier.

However, Burnley's owner Alan Pace is not one to rest on his laurels. "I said it last year when we finished first – we are 21st in English football. So I would like to see how far up we can take the club," the head of ALK Capital said. "And give people hope that we can still improve. Hope is a big, big thing in life."

The hope for any promoted side is to simply avoid relegation. Kompany's outfit may well fulfil this ambition but how it affects their style remains to be seen.

Burnley 2023/24 Premier League prediction - 15th


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