Middlesbrough promotion rival suffers shock manager blow ahead of summer rebuild

Burnley are set to suffer a huge manager blow ahead of their summer rebuild, with Vincent Kompany close to being named the new Bayern Munich head coach.

In a shock move after the Claret's relegation from the Premier League, Kompany and assistant Craig Bellamy are set to depart Turf Moor to take over at Bayern Munich. Once a compensation fee with Burnley is agreed, Kompany will take the reins at Bayern Munich, replacing Thomas Tuchel after the German giants failed to win the Bundesliga for the first time since 2012.

Burnley may have won only five games last season but won the Championship in 2023 pretty comfortably - sealing their promotion by beating Middlesbrough at the Riverside. They would have been coming down this summer once again backed by Premier League parachute payments and would have been heavily favoured to earn promotion back to the top flight.

READ MORE: Championship rivals facing managerial uncertainty as Middlesbrough set to seal Carrick contract

While that will still be the case regardless of Kompany's shock departure, it will lead to a little more uncertainty. With many other clubs currently searching for new managers, Burnley will have to quickly push to find the right successor for the Belgian boss in order to push ahead with summer planning for the season ahead.

That could be a huge boost to Boro who are hoping their stability and continuation from last season, complemented by a few quality additions, can help them be serious challengers for promotion in the Championship next season. Michael Carrick has made his ambitions clear and looks set to sign a new deal at the Riverside to show his belief and commitment to the plan.

As well as Burnley, fellow promotion rivals Norwich City, Hull City and Sunderland are also still searching or pushing to appoint new managers ahead of the summer transfer window, while there is uncertainty around final decisions that would be made at either Leeds United or Southampton, depending on who fails to win promotion in Sunday's play-off final. In that sense, Boro are getting a decent head start on many of their rivals ahead of next season.