What will be key to their success?

Recruitment. The Clarets have seen 12 departures so far this summer and will need to rebuild their squad with a team that fits Hayen’s style of play.

The Belgian likes to play high-possession football and wants to be direct once in a position to attack, so players who are good on the ball and able to intercept will be high on his wishlist.

New signing Ugo Raghouber fits that profile perfectly – he’s a defensive midfielder who is known for breaking up attacks and he’s good in the air.

The only other outfield player the Clarets have purchased this summer, forward Lluc Castell, fits the club’s preference for the stars of tomorrow since ALK Capital completed their takeover in 2020.

Of the 20 new players they brought to the club ahead of their promotion-winning Championship campaign in 2024-25, 12 were aged 25 or under.

The following season in the Premier League, the Clarets stuck to this model, with seven of their 15 arrivals being 25 or under. Three were over 30, including veteran defender and former England international Kyle Walker.

Castell shows plenty of promise but, at just 19, is still very much in development.

While a younger squad may have struggled to compete at the top level, it’s been effective in the second tier – and Walker will be wanting to add a Championship trophy to the overflowing cabinet filled with accolades from his years at Manchester City.

Are they likely contenders?

Burnley know how to run a promotion campaign.

They do not tend to linger in the second tier too long and both previous managers that were appointed by owner Alan Pace – Kompany and Parker – won promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking.

But yo-yoing between the first and second tiers suggests they have an unsustainable model – and this year could be their most perilous yet.

All 12 Scottish Premiership clubs will enter a team into a legends version of cult indoor tournament the Tennent’s Soccer Sixes later this year.

The revived event, backed by the SPFL, will take place at Braehead Arena on the weekend of 3 and 4 October and be broadcast on Premier Sports.

Group stages will be played on Saturday, with the winner and runner-up from three regionalised groups of four teams progressing to the knockout stage along with the two best third-placed teams.

Every game will have a winner, with a bonus point for a penalty shootout win in the event of a draw after normal time. The sin bin will also be in operation.

The Tennent’s Soccer Sixes was a staple of the Scottish football scene for nine years from 1984, with clubs fielding many of their leading players.

Partick Thistle, who are in the Scottish Championship and therefore will not play in this year’s revived event, were the winners of last tournament in 1993.

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “The Tennent’s Sixes has a special place in the hearts and minds of a generation of football fans and we are absolutely thrilled to get the band back together again with the official endorsement of the SPFL.”

Great Britain’s Max Burgin and Ben Pattison finish first and second in their semi-final races to qualify for the 800m final, while Ireland’s Mark English also qualifies for the final after breaking the European Athletics Championship record time for the event.

FOLLOW LIVE: European Athletics Championships – day three

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