Why Burnley will forever be indebted to Bristol City & Sean Dyche for free transfer | OneFootball

Burnley should be thankful to Bristol City for allowing them to sign Tom Heaton, who became a crucial player during the Sean Dyche era.

Burnley are currently preparing for life back in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship.

It was a season to remember for Burnley as they secured promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt, with Scott Parker's men finishing second in the table behind Leeds United on goal difference after both teams reached the 100-point mark.

The Clarets' promotion was built on an excellent defensive platform as they conceded a remarkable total of just 16 goals and kept 30 clean sheets throughout the season, which set a new Championship record.

While Burnley took the meaning of solid to a whole new level last season, being resilient and well-organised has been a hallmark of many of the more successful teams at Turf Moor in recent times, particularly during Sean Dyche's near-decade in charge.

One player who helped Dyche's side establish their reputation for being so difficult to beat was goalkeeper Tom Heaton, who joined the Clarets from Bristol City in May 2013.

Burnley struck gold with Tom Heaton, Bristol City deal

Heaton became Dyche's first signing as Burnley manager when he made the move to Turf Moor, but given that he had played for a Bristol City side that had finished bottom of the Championship the previous season with the worst defensive record in the league, his arrival was not unanimously welcomed by supporters.

However, Heaton was one of the Robins' better performers during their relegation season, and Dyche had been a long-term admirer of the Manchester United academy graduate, so after finally landing his signature, he immediately installed him as the Clarets' number one.

The decision to sign Heaton proved to be a masterstroke as Burnley achieved an unexpected automatic promotion in his first season in Lancashire, and he kept 19 clean sheets in the Championship during the course of the campaign, while Dyche's men conceded just 37 league goals, which was the fewest in the division.

Unfortunately for the Clarets, their stay in the Premier League proved to be a brief one as they were relegated after just one season, but they responded well to that setback as they won the Championship title in the 2015-16 campaign, and Heaton performed even better than his previous spell in the second tier, keeping 20 clean sheets and conceding only 35 goals.

This time, Burnley were able to establish themselves in the top flight, and while Heaton lost his place to Nick Pope in the 2017-18 season, he was given a run between the sticks after Joe Hart was dropped in the second half of the 2018-19 campaign, as well as playing both legs against Olympiacos in the Europa League as his side were knocked out of the competition at the play-off stage.

After a hugely successful six-year spell at the club that included two Championship promotions and four Premier League seasons, Heaton departed Turf Moor in August 2019 when he made the move to Aston Villa for £8 million, and that fee represented pure profit for the Clarets given that they signed him on a free transfer.

Sean Dyche deserves huge credit for taking Tom Heaton, Bristol City gamble

When appearing on the Stick To Football podcast last month, Dyche opened up on his transfer policy at Burnley, and he expressed his pride at the way he managed to transform the careers of the likes of Heaton, Ben Mee, James Tarkowski and Ashley Barnes, who were all crucial members of his team.

Dyche revealed that he had previously attempted to sign Heaton during his time in charge of Watford, and while he admitted that his arrival at Turf Moor was not greeted with a positive reception, he insisted he was delighted to have kept his promise of working with the goalkeeper.

"I was going to sign Tom Heaton at Watford, but I got the sack," Dyche said.

"I had a meeting with his agent and promised I'd come back for him, and I did.

"I got the Burnley job, and I signed him.

"He got relegated (with Bristol City the previous season), and I got battered for it, but he was unbelievable."

When Gary Neville claimed that his former United team-mate Heaton was a "good lad", Dyche replied: "Brilliant.

"He's a good keeper, a really, really good keeper, fantastic.

"Things like that, they are brilliant stories for me as a manager and my staff as well, we've got so many of those stories."