Vincent Kompany’s Burnley are back in the Premier League after earning promotion to the top flight following their 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough on Friday.

The Clarets are 19 points ahead of third-placed Luton, who only have six games left, at the top of the Championship. They haven’t lost in 19 league games.

After his first job as a manager at Anderlecht ended, it was a smart move to move quickly to hire Kompany, who used to be the captain of Manchester City.

When the Clarets’ six-year run in England’s top league ended last season, many people thought the worst.

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

Nick Pope, Dwight McNeil, Nathan Collins, and Maxwel Cornet were picked up by Premier League clubs for nearly £70 million ($87 million). Ben Mee and James Tarkowski, two key players in the club’s stay in the top flight, left for free.

But Kompany has put together almost a whole new team for a fraction of what it would have cost because he knows the Belgian market and has connections at City.

Full-back In the last 24 minutes at the Riverside, Welsh international Connor Roberts scored the game-winning goal by turning in Nathan Tella’s cross.

Ashley Barnes gave Kompany’s team a great start, but Chuba Akpom tied the game with his 27th goal of the season from the penalty spot.