Clarets midfielder Cullen on Kompany exit and relegation

Burnley midfielder Josh Cullen bears no grudge against Vincent Kompany for his decision to leave Turf Moor and take charge at Bayern Munich.

Cullen played under Kompany at Anderlecht and the Belgium brought him to East Lancashire in the summer of 2022.

The Irish international was a key part of the side that won promotion that season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award.

He made 28 appearances last term as the Clarets were relegated back to the Championship, only winning five league games.

Cullen is current away on international duty and was asked about the potential of reuniting with Kompany in Germany.

“I’m just waiting for the phone to ring," he joked. He must have lost my number at the minute! It’s a massive club and I wish him well there.

“I think his tactical knowledge of the game is outstanding. His gameplan depending on what opposition you come up against is always very clear and if you can deliver the message that he puts across to his team, then you have a great chance of winning the game.

“I’m sure they’ve done their homework and watched a lot of games. He’s come from the sort of school of Pep as well.

“It seems a lot of managers are getting jobs coming from how well he has done in the game and sharing similar ideas.”

Cullen hopes the Clarets, who are still searching for Kompany’s replacement, can bounce back quickly from relegation and hit the ground running in the Championship next season.

He added: “We need to come back as a group in pre-season and hopefully have a successful season.

“Last season didn’t go as we wanted but it was always an ambition of mine to play at the highest level in club football, and the Premier League is certainly that.

“To make a decent amount of appearances across the season and come back from a bit of a difficult time in the middle, when I wasn’t playing, and finish the season fairly strongly was good.”