Burnley: High-profile QPR sale was the catalyst for promotion - View | OneFootball

Selling Charlie Austin in 2013 may have seemed like a mad move by Burnley, but opportunities arose for two stars of the future

Having just narrowly avoided relegation the season before, summer 2013 was always likely to be a bleak one for Burnley.

But two days before their season-opening clash with Bolton in 2013/14, their preparations were thrown into turmoil, when the previous season’s 24-goal man, Charlie Austin, departed for QPR - a side who, incredibly, turned out to be one of their promotion rivals.

The future looked fairly bleak at that point for the Clarets, who had not only had a 24 goal void to fill in attack, but were also seemingly shackled with a manager who was under pressure after last season’s shortcomings, but few knew just what was around the corner.

When the teamsheet dropped on a sunny afternoon at Turf Moor, eyebrows were raised at the inclusion of journeyman Sam Vokes and a young Danny Ings, who had netted just six league goals for the club before the 2013/14 season.

The ‘Vings’ partnership took off at Burnley

Had it not been for Austin’s departure, he would have been Burnley’s go-to man for goals, but when one man leaves, another man gets his opportunity, and Dyche had two players ready to prove they were as good as Austin - something that up until then they hadn't had the chance to prove.

Little did Burnley fans know, but Vokes and Ings were about to become household names in the Championship, with the pair helping fire Burnley to one of the most unlikely promotions the second-tier has ever seen, given the Clarets were amongst the pre-season favourites to go down.

Only the dubious goals panel denied Ings from opening his account on matchday one against Bolton Wanderers, when David Wheater turned an Ings effort through his own net.

But it was on matchday two when we got the first sighting of the ‘Vings’ partnership, when Burnley went to Sheffield Wednesday and the duo struck a goal each in a 2-1 victory.

Incredibly, game after game was going by, and Vokes and Ings were continually amongst the goals, leaving Burnley in and around the league's summit when Austin made his return to Turf Moor at the end of October, donning blue and white hoops.

Football often works in mysterious ways, and there was a touch of poetic justice in the goal that ultimately proved decisive in Burnley’s 2-0 win, as Vokes threaded through for Ings, who struck what proved to be the winner.

January soon rolled around, but transfer windows at Burnley - a club who at the time were a little strapped for cash entering their fourth season outside of the top-flight - signings were limited to loans and free transfers. In fact, Burnley’s summer window went off without them spending a penny.

But with promotion a distinct possibility in January, Dyche used some of the Austin money to recruit Ashley Barnes - a man who actually stayed at Turf Moor for almost a decade.

In the short-term, though, his impact was huge, as in March, both Ings and Vokes were struck down by injury - with Vokes’ season-ending, meaning he ended the campaign with 20 league goals in what was his best-ever scoring campaign.

Barnes would go on to fire in three goals towards the end of the campaign, and while that tally may seem small, the fact all three came in victories signifies the importance of his signing.

Ings would go on to return later in the campaign, and his 21 league goal earned him a spot in the Championship Team of the Year as Burnley finished as league runners-up and earned promotion.