Burnley will head back into the Premier League desperate to stay there for the long term, with Scott Parker also having plenty to prove as a top-flight worthy manager.
Parker has now impressively sealed three promotions up to the big time on his managerial CV, but he's never looked like the most comfortable figure plying his trade in the top-flight away from the Championship, with a dire 30 defeats next to his name when managing at the elite level.
scott parker
He will no doubt be eager to prove all his doubters wrong from the Turf Moor hot-seat, but he will be very aware that any chance he has of establishing himself as a top manager at the level will rest on the newly promoted side keeping talents such as Josh Brownhill around.
Why Burnley must keep Brownhill
Jumping up a division and staying put there is going to be a very difficult ask for Burnley, especially when you weigh up the ongoing fate that every newly promoted side that triumphantly tastes promotion immediately falls straight back to the EFL.
That's before you further factor in the grim fact that Burnley could lose a large portion of their promotion-winning heroes this off-season, with 18-goal star Brownhill allegedly on the summer shopping lists of both Everton and West Ham United.
Losing their beloved captain to a top-flight rival would be nothing short of disastrous for Parker's men, with Brownhill's 18 strikes and six assists across 44 league games undoubtedly playing a huge part in Burnley's push back up to the top-flight.
The in-demand 29-year-old has also shown he can perform up a level previously, with six goals and six assists next to his name in the Premier League to date, meaning he could be just the steadying presence the Lancashire club need to try and secure survival.
Brownhill-Celtic-Burnley-transfer
Away from Brownhill, Burnley will also need to ensure they keep their formidable defence around to try and stave off relegation, with one stern Clarets defender actually boasting a higher worth than the electric midfielder now after a breakout promotion-winning season.
The "exceptional" Burnley star worth more than Brownhill
Remarkably, across the full 46-game marathon, Burnley would only ship a minuscule 16 goals in total, leading to first-choice goalkeeper James Trafford reprotedly being on the radar of Newcastle United.
He isn't the only defensive star being eyed up by a higher suitor, however, with Crystal Palace also reportedly keeping tabs on Clarets number 16 Maxime Esteve, after the French colossus looked near faultless all season long alongside Trafford.
The former Montpellier man would deservedly slot into the Championship team of the season, with Esteve operating as both a classy performer on the ball with 60.5 accurate passes averaged per league game, but also acting as a forceful presence when needed by picking up a whopping 30 clean sheets.
Unsurprisingly, off the back of such a sterling individual season alongside his standout teammates, Esteve's transfer value has shot up, with Burnley definitely winning themselves a golden bargain when purchasing the 22-year-old for around the £12.5m mark just last year.
Esteve's league numbers for Burnley (24/25)
Stat - per 90 mins*
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
Touches*
Accurate passes*
Ball recoveries*
Clearances*
Total duels won*
Clean sheets
Transfer value when joining
Transfer value now
Stats by Sofascore
Now, the in-demand centre-back is worth a far heftier £19.3m - as per Football Transfers - with Brownhill's own value of £9.6m falling way short of Esteve's bumped up valuation.
Therefore, it will likely have to be an astronomical offer put on the table for Burnley to consider parting ways with their "exceptional" - as he has been previously labelled by Parker - centre-back.
Maxime-Esteve
Further billed as possessing "undeniable" Premier League potential by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, it will be intriguing to see if does become even more of an imperious defender next season, whether that be lining up for Parker's men, for Oliver Glasner's Eagles or moving elsewhere.
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[Burnley have struck gold on "superstar" talent who's as good as Trafford](https://www.footballfancast.com/burnley-have-struck-gold-on-josh-brownhill-as-good-as-trafford/ "Burnley have struck gold on "superstar" talent who's as good as Trafford")
Burnley will hope they can succeed in the Premier League next season with this superstar already possessing top-flight quality.