Bristol City’s missed chance as Burnley’s Vincent Kompany explains Josh Brownhill stance

Vincent Kompany has explained why Burnley kept hold of ex-Bristol City midfielder Josh Brownhill, who is preparing to face his former club.

The 26-year-old has been influential for the Clarets this season with four goals and two assists in the nine matches he’s played in the Championship.

Those appearances attracted attention as Brownhill was subject of speculation over a possible move to Leicester City and Southampton this summer, but a move didn’t take place.

The Robins would have stood to benefit from any sale, as they included a sell-on-fee in the deal when they sold him to the Clarets back in January 2020.

After selling Nick Pope to Newcastle United, Maxwel Cornet to West Ham United, as well as Dwight McNeil to Everton and Nathan Collins to Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Burnley board and management staff were keen to ensure there were still some foundations from the team relegated from the Premier League, hence Brownhills stay.

City will now have to face their midfielder for the first time since his departure from Ashton Gate after leaving almost three years ago.

"The club was adamant; everyone at the club knew that we had to keep those strong foundations and keep it healthy," said the four-time Premier League winner to the Burnley Express.

"That’s not just the financial side, that was also on the football side.

"At the same time, as soon as we allowed certain players to go, we knew that we didn’t have to do that any more. Of course there was interest in Brownhill, but there’s a limit to what we needed to be doing to set ourselves back up."

The Warrington-born midfielder spent three-and-a-half seasons at City, netting 17 goals in 161 appearances, including a memorable strike against Cardiff City in the Severnside Derby.

He was predominantly a centre midfielder during his time under Lee Johnson but at Burnley he is being given a new lease of life under Kompany.

Brownhill has added goals to his game with a brace against Wigan Athletic to boast and was entrusted with the captain’s armband against Watford.

He was picked as one of the players by the former Anderlecht boss to build the team around after a summer of chopping and change in the fall out of their relegation.

"You just have to look at the impact he has on our squad," the Manchester City legend added.

"It’s not just on the pitch, it’s in terms of leadership. He gives you so much energy and, on the other hand, it doesn’t take much for him to score a goal or to get a chance.

"I still feel he’s learning the position and that’s really exciting because if you give it another three or four months he’ll feel the position. Once that happens a player of his quality can have a really defining impact for us this season.

"If you line up the tasks there’s no reason why he can’t play that position really, really well. He just needs a bit more experience in that position, but what he’s shown already in a short period of time, it’s probably more than what you could have anticipated at this point."