Burnley secured promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking after Vincent Kompany’s men won 2-1 at Middlesbrough on Friday.

A 19-game unbeaten league run has taken the Clarets 19 points clear of third-placed Luton, who have just six games remaining, at the top of the Championship.

The decision to act swiftly to land former Manchester City captain Kompany after his first managerial spell at Anderlecht came to an end has proved a masterstroke.

Many feared the worst when the Clarets’ six-year stay in the English top flight came to an end last season.

Due to the terms of a controversial leveraged takeover by an American consortium in late 2020, a “significant proportion” of a £65 million ($78 million) loan had to be repaid when they were relegated.

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