Football League World
·5 June 2024
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·5 June 2024
This article is part of Football League World’s 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Burnley are preparing for life back in the Championship after their relegation from the Premier League.
The Clarets were promoted to the Premier League after winning the Championship title in the 2022-23 season, and many had expected them to be able to make the step up to the top flight.
However, it did not work out that way, and Burnley were relegated after an incredibly disappointing season in which they won just five games and accumulated a total of 24 points.
The Clarets are on the hunt for a new manager after Vincent Kompany made a shock move to Bayern Munich, and they have named Craig Bellamy as acting head coach.
According to journalist Alan Nixon, Bellamy has "major support" inside Burnley to become the club's next permanent manager, but a host of other names have been linked with the role, including Frank Lampard, Steve Cooper, Scott Parker, Raphael Wicky, Marti Cifuentes, Carlos Corberan and Alan Pardew.
Whoever takes charge of the Clarets will be inheriting a strong squad, but the club could be vulnerable to losing some of their stars after relegation, and they may need to sell in order to bring in new additions this summer.
FLW's Burnley fan pundit Ben Livingstone says that while he would like to keep hold of the pair in the Championship, he believes striker Zeki Amdouni and winger Mike Tresor are the two players the club could look to cash in on.
Amdouni arrived at Turf Moor from Basel last summer, but he scored just six goals and provided one assist in 37 appearances in all competitions this season.
Tresor initially joined the Clarets on loan from Genk in September, and despite failing to register a goal or assist in 19 appearances, the move has now been made permanent, with the club paying a fee of £13 million.
Ben also says that defender Luke McNally, who spent the season out on loan at Stoke City, and forward Scott Twine, who had temporary spells at Hull City and Bristol City this campaign, could be sold, and he suggested defenders Ameen Al-Dakhil and Jordan Beyer could depart if the club receive suitable offers.
"I wouldn't mind seeing us cash in on Zeki Amdouni or Mike Tresor," Ben said.
"I would love to keep both in the Championship, but I feel like the club may move them on just because we can get some decent money for them potentially.
"I don't know if either player would want to stay in the Championship, obviously Amdouni was the Conference League top scorer the season before he came here, Tresor had the most assists in Europe in the Belgian Pro League, so they've both probably got quite decent stock still.
"We spent quite a bit of money on them, you're talking £30 million for the pair. "I'd love to see them both stay in the Championship, I think they'd absolutely smash it, but we've got a big, big squad. "In terms of maybe some small players that I wouldn't mind us cashing in on, Scott Twine. "I really, really love Scott Twine, I've met him in person as well and he's really sound, but if Bristol City come in, I feel like you maybe get £3 million back, we paid £4-5 million for him, so you're taking a bit of a loss. "It just didn't work out that one to be honest. "Maybe Luke McNally if you can get a bit of cash for him, Ameen Al-Dakhil is in the Belgium squad, so if you can get £10-12 million for him, you'd probably take it. "We've got so many centre-backs, some people might say Jordan Beyer because he's been injured all season. "He was fantastic for us in the Championship, signed permanently for about £15 million and hasn't been particularly great.
"He's been great when he played, but he's been injured for a lot of the season, so some people might say cash in on him."
There is no doubt that there will be some high-profile departures from Burnley this summer, but without a manager in place, it is tough to know which players could be sold.
Kompany's exit will have come as a shock to the Clarets board, and they are right to take their time in finding his successor, but they could risk falling behind their Championship rivals if they have a lengthy managerial search.
Of the players Ben mentioned, it seems likely that McNally and Twine will both leave Turf Moor permanently this summer, but Amdouni, Tresor, Al-Dakhil and Beyer could be huge assets for Burnley in the Championship.
Al-Dakhil and Beyer were crucial parts of the Clarets' title-winning squad last time they were in the division, and while Amdouni and Tresor found it tough in the Premier League, they could both be dangerous in the second tier, so the club should look to keep hold of all four players.