“We know what we want!” — Burnley boss Vincent Kompany on the club’s summer plans in preparation for the Premier League

Vincent Kompany already has an idea of which areas of his squad need strengthening ahead of Burnley's Premier League return.

And the EFL Championship Manager of the Season nominee is ready to do business as soon as the transfer window re-opens in the summer.

With promotion confirmed, inroads have already been made, and targets have been locked in, as the Clarets look to get a head start.

However, with 16 new faces introduced in readiness for the 2022-23 campaign, the ex-Belgium international isn't anticipating preparations to be just as chaotic this time around.

He said: "It can't be as busy as it was last summer, I don't think that is possible. It's an ongoing, very calm process.

“I think since January we’ve been planning for both scenarios, the Championship and Premier League. Obviously now we can get rid of one the scenarios and just focus on the Premier League and that makes it easier for sure.

"But then you realise how big the task is at hand and so we spend a lot of time preparing for next season while trying to remain competitive for the next games, but it’s a tremendous task and every day we have, we spend preparing and making sure we use a little bit to our advantage the time we have.

"We're just looking for the best possible players in the market. We know what we want, we have an approach as to how we get there, and we're used to it."

The four-time PL champion with Manchester City is backing his group to improve, evolve and step up to the plate once again when they take on the nation's footballing superpowers.

Kompany wasn't entirely sure what to expect when setting out on his first managerial tenure in English football, but he was pleasantly surprised when managing to catch lightening in a bottle as the champions elect went nap.

The 37-year-old is hoping for the same reaction when he returns to the division he called 'home' for 11 seasons. He said: "We have a lot of players in the squad right now who we believe in.

"We think they will raise the level as they go into the Premier League, and then we have a number of vacancies - which are mainly down to loan players leaving or some other situations - which we'll have to fill.

“I don’t like to speak about overhaul because I think you have to progress the squad, you have to evolve and the squad will evolve, there’s no doubt the squad will evolve."

Kompany added: "I think what we’ll do is try and make sure that wherever we see an opportunity to strengthen, we do, whilst we’re kind of also expecting a lot of players in our team will raise their levels with the Premier League.

“But that’s the big unknown, that’s the thing that when you kick off those first two or three games, it’s whether the players will one, raise their levels, and two, whether the players that you’re going to bring into the squad will be up for the Premier League task.

"We’ll assemble a team that we think is competitive and it could be a good surprise or a bad surprise, but we’ll be the most informed possible.”

Kompany is prepared to have "honest" conversations when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of making key decisions that will define the immediate future for his players.

Ashley Barnes is out of contract at the end of the season and looks like ending his long service with the club, others may follow the striker out of the door, while some may need to be shipped out on loan to further their personal development.

But with six games left, Kompany is encouraging his players to make the most of every minute they get on the pitch. "You always evolve your thinking with what you see," he said.

"I think that's the biggest role you have. I have a set idea at the start of the season, but the players who started the season aren't the players who have finished the season.

"There's a part of me that's very aware that we got to this point thanks to the group. Now we've got the luxury of doing a couple of targeted changes, but during the season when it was imposed on us it didn't weaken us and that's something I want to recognise, especially going into the next five or six games. I want to give everyone the chance to show how good they are."

Meanwhile, the Championship leaders' five loan players have featured 134 times between them in the second tier, helping the Clarets open up an almost insurmountable chasm by contributing heavily to clean sheets and goals.

Nathan Tella is Burnley's leading scorer with 19 goals in all competitions, Jordan Beyer has been a revelation since his temporary switch from Borussia Monchengladbach, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Ian Maatsen have set the league alight, while Halil Dervisoglu has chipped in with an important winner.

Negotiations are ongoing with the quintet's respective clubs, but there won't be any decisions made until further down the line.

The Premier League Hall of Fame entrant concluded: “There are no tough conversations, only honest conversations.

“The Premier League is a big jump but in the end I think whatever we do has got to be business that is smart for the club. That’s the difficulty, you can’t just go in the market and get any player to just come and join. There’s so many things that we’ve got to take into consideration and then we feel that we can build a competitive squad.

"The right order is to speak to the clubs first. We engaged conversations with some clubs and we’re getting some feedback, but not all the clubs are in a position where they can give you an answer now and we roughly have an idea of the players that would want to stay and their opinions, but we’ve just got to do it right by the clubs we’re talking to first.”