Burnley and Brighton agreement paved the way for Turf Moor legend: View | OneFootball

Burnley fans will be thankful that a deal was made with Brighton for the signing of Ashley Barnes back in 2014.

Highlights

Burnley have got plenty of experience in earning promotion from the Championship.

The Clarets have entered a new era under Scott Parker, following the departure of Vincent Kompany to Bayern Munich. Last season saw Burnley pick up a disappointing 24 points in the Premier League, which led to relegation back into the second tier despite high expectations.

Of course, the expectation this season is to achieve automatic promotion back to the top flight, something that they've done on numerous occasions in the past. Parker also has experience of promotion, after his spells with Fulham and Bournemouth.

It has been a rather up and down decade for Burnley, who have been relegated three times in ten years, but have also earned promotion from the Championship on three occasions in that time frame.

One player that was a mainstay in the Burnley squad throughout those ups and downs is striker, Ashley Barnes. The now 34-year-old arrived at Turf Moor back in 2014 after a great spell at Brighton, and became a club legend after his nine years with the Clarets.

Burnley will look back on that deal with Brighton ten years ago with immense gratitude, as the player gave them some memorable moments over the years.

Burnley's deal with Brighton for Ashley Barnes

Barnes was already a proven goalscorer when he signed for Burnley as a 24-year-old. In his 170 games with the Seagulls, he scored 53 goals and assisted 22, which well and truly proved his worth in the Championship.

In fact, his best goalscoring season to date came during his time at Brighton, as he scored 18 goals in League One to lead his club to the title and earn his first of four promotions in his career.

Barnes spent the first half of the 2013/14 campaign with Brighton in the Championship, but by January he was attracting interest from elsewhere in the division as Burnley came calling. Eventually, Sean Dyche's Clarets picked up their first signing of the 2014 January window for an undisclosed fee, to the despair of Brighton, who had lost a valuable forward.

This soon proved to be a phenomenal signing for the Clarets as Brighton had handed them a future club legend.

Ashley Barnes' time at Burnley

The opening stages of Barnes' time at Turf Moor were quiet in terms of goals, but nevertheless, Burnley earned promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 2013/14 campaign, with the striker chipping in with three goals.

It was an exiciting time for Barnes as he prepared for his first ever season in the Premier League, and he quickly became a regular starter under Dyche. However, disaster struck at the end of his first full season with the club. Burnley had been relegated and Barnes suffered an injury on the final day of the season so bad that he missed the majority of the following campaign in the Championship.

It was after his injury, though, that the forward really kicked on and made a name for himself at Burnley. The club had once again returned to the Premier League. Over the next four seasons, Barnes scored 33 top flight goals during an exciting period for the Clarets.

The 2017/18 campaign saw Burnley finish 7th in the Premier League and earn themselves a place in the Europa League qualifiers. Barnes played a big part in that and was their starting striker throughout.

A few years later, his goals had dried up and Burnley suffered relegation to the Premier League, but by that point, he had already earned legendary status.

The club's most recent promotion from the Championship came in Barnes' final season at Turf Moor. The striker scored seven league goals to earn a fourth career promotion.

He then departed for Norwich City as a club legend, after nine years. Looking back now, Burnley fans will be extremely thankful that their club agreed a deal for Barnes ten years ago, as he scored a total of 55 goals in all competitions and was a consistent mainstay in their team under Dyche.