As Premier League clubs prepare to start playing pre-season friendlies this weekend, The Scout runs the rule over the promoted clubs and highlights the players who could have the biggest impact in 2025/26 Fantasy Premier League.
Burnley
The Clarets are back in the Premier League after a one-year absence.
Burnley secured promotion by finishing second in the Championship, but only missed out on the title on goal difference, having amassed 100 points. Across all 46 matches, they suffered just two defeats.
They also kept a record 30 clean sheets and never conceded more than one goal in any match, solidifying their position as the best defensive team in the Championship.
Burnley's defensive statistics*
| Total | Rank | |
| Goals conceded | 16 | 1st |
| Clean sheets | 30 | 1st |
*2024/25 Championship
As they step up a level, Burnley will face far greater challenges, but they are a well-organised team.
At the other end of the pitch, goals didn’t exactly flow for Scott Parker’s side in 2024/25, as evidenced by their total of 69 goals, which was significantly overshadowed by the 95 of Leeds United.
It is important to mention, however, that the Clarets increased their attacking threat following the arrival of Marcus Edwards from Sporting Lisbon in February.
His presence on the right wing turned Burnley into a far more potent side, as they found the net 30 times across their final 13 matches.
The Clarets will kick off their 2025/26 Premier League campaign with a trip to Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday 16 August.
A favourable home match against fellow promoted side Sunderland follows, but there is no getting away from the fact it’s a tough start, with fixtures against Manchester United, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Aston Villa making up their first seven matches. According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), only one of their first seven matches scores lower than three
Burnley's first seven fixtures
| GW | Opponent | FDR* |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spurs (A) | 3 |
| 2 | Sunderland (H) | 2 |
| 3 | Man Utd (A) | 3 |
| 4 | Liverpool (H) | 4 |
| 5 | Nott'm Forest (H) | 3 |
| 6 | Man City (A) | 4 |
| 7 | Aston Villa (A) | 4 |
*1 = easiest, 5 = hardest
Key players
James Trafford
Trafford’s superb performances in goal last season were pivotal to Burnley’s promotion campaign.
The goalkeeper kept 29 clean sheets, including 12 consecutive shutouts between December and March, and conceded only 16 goals across 45 Championship matches.
Additionally, only Stoke City’s Viktor Johansson prevented more goals (subtracting the actual goals conceded from the Expected Goals on Target conceded from the shots they faced) than the 12.5 of Trafford among Championship goalkeepers in 2024/25.
Trafford is being heavily linked with a move to Newcastle United, but if Burnley can successfully fend off summer interest, he could offer great value if priced at £4.5m.
Kyle Walker/Quilindschy Hartman
Ahead of their Premier League return, Burnley have completed a deal to sign Man City defender Walker.
The six-time Premier League champion spent the second half of last season on loan at AC Milan, where he made 16 appearances across all competitions.
Walker looks tailor-made to play in a Parker side, but his Fantasy appeal will largely be dictated by how his new manager decides to use him.
Fellow new arrival Hartman, for example, could be handed more offensive freedom down the left flank.
The attack-minded full-back, who has been capped by the Dutch national team, was limited to just eight Eredivisie starts for Feyenoord in 2024/25 due to injury.
However, he produced 11 attacking returns across the previous two seasons, highlighting his potential going forward.
Should Burnley show signs of resilience at the back, either Walker or Hartman could become decent budget rotation options, where you pick your third or fourth starting defender based on who has the most favourable fixture, in 2025/26 Fantasy.
Jaidon Anthony
After a successful loan spell at the club, Anthony has joined Burnley on a permanent deal this summer.
The winger chipped in with eight goals and seven assists across 43 matches last season.
He was also one of the Championship’s most creative players, recording 81 key passes.
Anthony will now look to maintain his strong end-of-season form, having produced nine attacking returns over his final 13 outings, a streak which coincided with a switch to his preferred role on the left wing.
Given the above, the 25-year-old might be a useful cut-price midfielder when Burnley have a kind run of fixtures.