Burnley said goodbye to their Premier League journey – for now – after the Clarets failed to avoid the drop in the 2021-22 Premier League campaign. This perhaps comes as no surprise to anyone given the state of affairs at Turf Moor, but the club could be set for a new chapter under Belgian icon Vincent Kompany as their next manager.
Per the Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg and cited by transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, Burnley is close to sealing a deal with Kompany to become the next headmaster at the club after talks have progressed over the last few weeks between the former Manchester City captain and the Championship-bound side.
Burnley are close to appoint Vincent Kompany as new head coach. Talks have been underway in secret for weeks, he’s gonna leave Anderlecht soon. 🇧🇪 #BurnleyFC
Feelings on Kompany deal are still positive even after the relegations, as per @JacobSteinberg.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 25, 2022
One of the twelve original founding members of the Football League back in 1888-89, Burnley is a storied club in its own right and recently enjoyed a fantastic 2017-18 under former beloved manager Sean Dyche when the Clarets finished seventh and enjoyed Europa League football the following year.
But a combination of poor investment into the first-team and an inability to progress with the times on the pitch finally caught up to the club – which resulted in Dyche’s departure earlier this season – but could now be remedied under Kompany.
The former Belgian international and Premier League-winning defender enjoyed two years on the touchline at Lotto Park, finishing fourth in 2020-21 before improving to third this past term before guiding the Belgian giants to second in the resulting Championship Playoffs.
On the surface, Burnley offers a halfway decent platform for Kompany to try to instill his philosophies at Turf Moor, which while at Anderlecht included a possession-based system that generated quite a few chances through all phases of play while highlighting the influence of attacking full-backs, particularly Sergio Gómez.
This could bode well for the likes of Dwight McNeil, Wout Weghorst, and Maxwel Cornet, but Kompany could already be made to source a vital replacement in the center of defense after recent links suggest Everton could be closing on a deal for James Tarkowski.
It is unclear whether or not Kompany would be expected to get Burnley back into the Premier League immediately upon accepting the role should he choose to do so, but the task at hand would be considerable given the notion that the club saw fit to part with someone as prominent in its story as Dyche.
