Troy Deeney sends clear instructions to Leeds United, Burnley & Sunderland ahead of Premier League return | OneFootball

We now know which Championship clubs will be making that tough step up next season.

Troy Deeney has said that the newly promoted Championship clubs - Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland - cannot afford to try and play their upcoming Premier League opposition at their own game. They have to take a different approach.

Promotion to England's premier footballing division is arguably the most euphoric feeling for any club or supporter. Once that reality of being up against the best in the world starts to home in, it doesn't look like quite the promised land that you expected when that jump was confirmed.

Leeds and Burnley have been through the mill of the Premier League of late. They have been cumulatively relegated three times this decade from the top flight. On the flip side, Sunderland's time away from the first division stretches a bit further back than that - they last played Premier League football in 2017.

Troy Deeney lays out Premier League blueprint for Leeds, Burnley & Sunderland

The last two seasons have seen all three teams that have come up go straight back down again, including the Clarets. Under Vincent Kompany, they were criticised for not switching their tactics. Like Southampton this season under Russell Martin, they tried to play how they did in the Championship, and it was quickly proved that they weren't good enough to do that.

If this most recent set of Championship promotion-winners try to take a similar approach next season, Deeney believes they will end up like the six teams that came before them.

"The one thing that I want to see from all the teams that go up: don't go up and now try and out-football the Premier League teams. You cannot do it," he said on CBS Sports Golazo following Sunderland's 2-1 play-off final win over Sheffield United.

"Go there, beat them up, be aggressive, be physical, take your chances when you get the opportunity, and, the most important part, enjoy the process."

His co-presenter, Nigel Reo-Coker, believes that being strong at the back will give Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland the best chance of surviving. Because of their record-breaking defence in the 2024/25 campaign, Reo-Coker believes Scott Parker's side currently have the best chance of staying up.

He said: "Defence wins championships. Defence keeps you in the Premier League. If you can have a solid defence and work off that foundation, and sprinkle that creativity, that freedom higher up the pitch, and get somebody who you can rely on to maybe get you 10-15 goals a season, you have half a chance of staying up.

"I would say Burnley, for me, seem like one of the ones that are equipped. Scott Parker has an identity there; very tough to beat, grind out results. I think (they got) 29 clean sheets, or something like that, this season. That is a great foundation to work from. You're not going to have to change anything.

"He's got a great chance. For me, they're the best equipped from what I've seen going up."

All three promoted Championship sides all need to find a specific type of goalscorer this summer

The Premier League, last season, was the most counter-attacking division of all of Europe's major leagues, as per The Athletic. The trio of sides going up almost certainly won't have most of the ball in the majority of games that they play next time out, and so will need to punish their opponents on the break.

Sunderland did this to great effect in the play-offs, beating the Blades and Coventry City in this fashion with 20-year-old Eliezer Mayenda leading the line. They and the other two Premier League newcomers will have to get used to playing in this fashion and, as such, will surely need to invest in forwards that can help them be effective in these moments.