Football League World
·26 October 2024
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·26 October 2024
Andre Gray was a superb signing for Burnley as he helped them achieve promotion from the Championship with his prolific goalscoring.
The Sean Dyche era at Burnley will not be forgotten for a long time.
The Clarets spent years and years attempting to re-establish themselves as a top-flight club, after their First Division stint in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Eventually, they would go on to become an established Premier League club in the late 2010s thanks to Dyche.
The Kettering-born manager was hugely popular at Turf Moor during his 10-year stay and brought the club many memories to cherish for a lifetime. Dyche led them to two promotions from the Championship and enjoyed a total of seven seasons in the Premier League.
He even guided them into the Europa League, after they achieved an astounding seventh-place finish in the top flight. While their Europa League stint did not go as planned, it was a wonderful moment for the club and one that would not have been possible without Sean Dyche.
Throughout Dyche's time at the club, he made a number of signings who went on to have a huge impact on the pitch. None more so than Andre Gray, who joined the club in 2015 and became an instant hit at Turf Moor.
Burnley spent just one season in the Premier League before being relegated back to the Championship in 2015. It was Dyche's task to rebuild his squad in order to ensure that the Clarets make an immediate return to the top flight and stay there.
The likes of James Tarkowski, Joey Barton, and Matt Lowton all signed for Burnley during the 2015/16 campaign, but it was Gray who undoubtedly earned his status as signing of the season.
The striker had scored goals at both Luton Town and Brentford, so when the Clarets paid a fee believed to be £6 million, it seemed to be a very sensible move.
Burnley's goal for the season was to earn promotion back to the Premier League following relegation the season prior, and they gave themselves the best chance of doing so by signing Gray.
Gray may only have spent two years at Burnley, but he certainly made his presence felt.
He became an instant mainstay in the starting XI under Dyche and proved his worth with an eye-catching return in his debut season. The 2015/16 campaign saw him score a whopping 23 league goals to help Burnley lift the Championship title and earn that second promotion in the space of three seasons. It was not just his goals that were so important to the Clarets, as he also managed to add eight assists as well.
As a result of his performances that season, Gray was named the Championship Player of the Year, so when the club reached the Premier League, it was a no-brainer for Dyche to keep him as his starting striker.
The following season, Gray made 26 Premier League starts and scored an impressive nine goals in his first-ever top flight campaign. As well as earning some personal achievements, he broke club records with his goals.
His hat-trick against Sunderland in 2016 was Burnley's first in the Premier League and their first in the top flight since 1975 when Peter Noble scored three in the First Division.
While Gray did not spend many years at Turf Moor, his impact in front of goals will be remembered for years, and he will go down as one of their best signings of the Sean Dyche era.
He went on to be sold to Watford for around £18.5 million, which gave Burnley a huge profit on the £6 million fee they paid two years prior.
It was a jackpot move that ticked all the boxes - he scored goals, fired the team to promotion, and then earned the Clarets plenty of cash.