"Quickest route to the Premier League" - Burnley and Bo Henriksen links after Kompany exit | OneFootball

Mainz boss Bo Henriksen has been suggested as a potential candidate to succeed Vincent Kompany at Burnley.

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

After Burnley suffered relegation from the Premier League, it came as a huge shock when Bayern Munich made a move for Vincent Kompany to become their new head coach.

The Clarets were set to keep faith with the Belgian, but he understandably decided to leave for the German giants.

Since his exit, attention at Turf Moor has centred on who can succeed Kompany, and a host of names have been linked with the vacancy.

Bo Henriksen spoken about for Burnley role

Bo Henriksen has been among those discussed for the job, with the 49-year-old currently in charge of Bundesliga side Mainz.

He took over in February when the side were in the relegation zone, but a fine run of form meant they climbed the table and actually ended up finishing 13th, clear of the bottom three.

So, Henriksen’s stock is high at the moment, and he has previously worked for Midjtylland and Zurich among other clubs, so he has plenty of experience.

And, with reports claiming that Henrik Jensen, his former assistant, is set for a coaching role with Burnley, there's increased speculation that the pair could reunite at Turf Moor.

Henriksen an ambitious Burnley target

Chris Gallagher

This would be a really shrewd appointment.

Henriksen isn’t the high-profile figure that Burnley may want, as he had a playing career that saw him turn out for clubs like Kidderminster Harriers! And, as a head coach, he is yet to manage what we would class as a big club, even if he is currently in the Bundesliga with Mainz.

However, his coaching career is hugely impressive, and he has worked hard to get himself in a position to manage in a top five league, and he did a tremendous job with Mainz to keep them in the top-flight last season.

He has a clear philosophy of how the game should be played, and the energetic, high-intensity approach that he demands could be ideally suited to the young, talented squad at Burnley.

Some may feel Henriksen would be a risk, as he has no experience in England. But, he has hundreds of games under his belt, across several leagues, which means he has proven his ability to adapt in the past.

So, if Henriksen is open to leaving Mainz for Turf Moor, it’s something that the hierarchy should explore, and he would have to be one of the leading candidates out there when you look at his CV and the way he plays, which is suited to the group.

Alfie Burns

The top line here has to be that this would be a very good appointment for Burnley. Stylistically, it makes quite a lot of sense for some continuity, and it feels a lot more sensible than trying to shoehorn a big name into the role; it worked with Kompany on both counts, but it's not destined to do that with someone else.

When it comes to Henriksen, the sticking point for me is whether he's going to be a getable target for Burnley in the Championship. There's little doubt that he'd be a good option, but after success in Europe, does he want to step back into the English second-tier?

Although, the elephant in the room here is we've seen Kompany swap the Championship (or bottom of the Premier League) for the Bundesliga, so it's not unquestionable that Henriksen would make the move in the opposite direction. The Henrik Jensen development and story only fuel a fire as well.

The Championship with a club like Burnley is attractive. They have a good squad, will attack the market and be amongst the favourites for the title by the start of August. Henriksen might see it as his best, and quickest, route to the Premier League.