Lancashire

Andy Bayes
Sports editor, BBC Radio Lancashire

Preston North End start the new season without summer signing Jordan Thompson who will be missing for the next couple of months following ankle surgery.

Speaking about the injury, boss Paul Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire: "It's another couple of months for Jordan. I think I said at the time that he had a misdiagnosis after the final game of last season [for Stoke City].

"He has had an operation now to sort it out and is in recovery which is hard for him because when you come to a new club, you want to start well and it is only when he got to a certain point that he realised something was wrong, so I feel for him."

Robbie Brady is also missing for a couple of weeks with a calf injury while Brad Potts will be assessed ahead of tomorrow's opening-day trip to QPR (15:00 BST).

Ahead of the game, Heckingbottom added: "I want to get going. Once these league games get underway, that is when you start getting proper feedback about the players.

"With the teams that have come up and come down, I have not got a clue how this Championship [season] is going to go. Our expectation for every game is to go and try to win."

Debuts could be handed to summer signings, Daniel Iversen (Leicester), Odel Offiah (Brighton), Pol Valentin and Michael Smith (Sheffield Wednesday), Thierry Small (Charlton), Daniel Jebbison (Bournemouth, loan), Andrija Vukcevic (FC Juarez).

Heckingbottom said he was "delighted" by the business the Lilywhites have done this summer - click here to listen to his full interview via BBC Sounds.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea striker Armando Broja is expected to complete his transfer to Burnley in the next 24 hours.

The 23-year-old has taken a few days to weigh up the move and negotiate the terms of his contract after a club-to-club agreement thought to be worth up to £20m was made over the weekend.

Broja is excited about a first permanent move away from Stamford Bridge and keen to play regular first-team football.

It will be Burnley’s third signing from Chelsea this summer. Midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu joined this week and a loan move for Bashir Humphreys was made permanent for a combined £55m.

This week, we are asking you to share your stories and photos about why you fell in love with Burnley.

Here is a selection of your submissions:

Simon: I went to Turf Moor at six weeks old and have been a fan ever since. From just staying in the league in 1987 to European football, I wouldn't change a thing!

Send us your pictures and stories here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Burnley announced the signing of Lesley Ugochukwu from Chelsea on Wednesday night for a fee in the region of £20m.

While the sum is officially undisclosed, it does eclipse both the £16m paid for Zeki Amdouni, who was signed from Basel in July 2023, and the £15m fee paid for James Trafford from Manchester City that same month.

The Trafford deal had the potential to rise to £19m, although the goalkeeper has since returned to Etihad Stadium.

So what have the Clarets got for their money?

In short, a gamble on a young player with relatively little top-level experience.

Ugochukwu joined Chelsea from Rennes for £23m two years ago and went on to make just six starts for the Blues before joining Southampton on loan last season.

The 21-year-old central midfielder did not particularly stand out in an abject Saints team, making 18 league starts as they were relegated.

He is highly thought of in France and played regularly in the Europa League for Rennes, but this signing by Burnley that is undoubtedly based on potential rather than concrete evidence, hoping the France Under-21 international will find his way in Premier League football.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views the signing of Lesley Ugochukwu from Chelsea.

Here are some of your comments:

Graham: Ugochukwu is a good acquisition, even at £20m-plus. It's a lot of money for Burnley but we're paying for potential, and survival in the Premier League. With the retained core of last season's team, additions such as him are essential for survival.

Mark: Time will tell if it's a good bit if business - I'd never heard of him before. The price is a bit expensive as it seems he's not had too much premier league experience. I wish him all the best for the coming season.

Martin: Really, really pleased with this signing. We need three or four more of a similar calibre and we'll have a fighting chance of staying up.

Colton: Would have preferred the money being spent on a couple of rising Championship stars who would stay with us with the right contracts. Why sign an unproven Premier League sub who probably has a get-out clause on relegation?

Paul: Doubt he will score many goals from midfield but he is strong, a good defender and looks for a forward pass. He could turn out to be a very good buy.

Gav: Seems like a sensible addition - adds energy to the midfield, which we need. Getting a striker is the bigger issue, if we get Armando Broja over the line I'll be happy with our business and feel confident we've tried to address the key areas. No guarantee of success, but that's a separate issue.

Image source, Getty Images

New Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka says he cannot wait to add his "experience and quality" to the side after arriving for an undisclosed fee from Newcastle United.

Dubravka, 36, made 179 appearances for the Magpies in his seven years at the club and kept 51 clean sheets.

The Slovakia international joins a side that broke the record for the fewest goals conceded in a Championship campaign in 2024-25. Burnley have sold last season's number one James Trafford to Manchester City.

"It's a really exciting time to be joining this club," Dubravka told the club's official website, external after signing his one-year deal.

"I've only heard really positive things about the club, the culture and the environment we work in, so I'm excited about getting going with the season kicking off next weekend.

"Burnley had a fantastic campaign last season, built on a superb defensive record, and I can't wait to come in and add my experience and quality to what looks an exciting squad of players."

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Danielle Sarver Coombs

When it comes to our love for a football club, the answer to why we do lies in "both psychological and societal" reasons.

In the first part of her chat with BBC Sport, researcher and co-writer of the Routledge Handbook of Sport Fans and Fandom Danielle Sarver Coombs spoke about the part that identity and tradition play.

And yet when we are caught up in the emotions of a tough defeat or nerves of an important match, we can often ask why we put ourselves through it.

"There are psychological processes at work and physiological ones in terms of how we respond and engage," Sarver Coombs said.

"An example that I always give is when I take the train to work, I go past Arsenal's stadium and I feel literally nothing other than: 'Oh, that's a big building'. Whereas on a train to Manchester, I went by Villa Park and my heart started pounding. I got all excited and was trying to take pictures out the window.

"I had a visceral reaction to this place. We can't pretend we don't have that sort of physical reaction because we do.

"When someone is talking about a controversial decision and I feel myself getting wound up, even though I intellectually know that I can't control it and that it's just a game, my body doesn't know that.

"My gut doesn't know that and so I have this really emotional response and we can't control that."

A 2023 book titled 'Football on the brain: why minds love sport, external' suggests it comes down to 'an understandable and logical consequence of the human mind's natural inclination to find meaning through beliefs... It's a religion as far as the brain is concerned'.

But it not just about what is going on inside the mind but outside influences too.

"There is a sociological element to it because the community part is such a huge driver and benefit for us," Sarver Coombs explains.

"Sociologically, we are driven to be part of communities. We are driven to find our groups that we can be members of. Sport provides a way to do that - this sense that I was chosen to be part of this community and it's something bigger than I am."

As the game expands, unrest among supporters seems to be increasing, but how does that impact this ingrained love for a club?

"You always go through these cycles when the game is changing," Sarver Coombs said.

"Despite all the changes, the traditions remain so strong and it's such a huge draw that it becomes really hard to actually separate yourself from it. Even if you do, it tends to be a short-term separation. You get sucked back in because something happens.

"People don't want that change, but then we adapt to it and continue moving forward."

Browse this page to see lots of fan stories for how you fell in love with your club.

And check out those from other Premier League teams over here

Image source, Getty Images

Burnley have completed the signing of French midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu from Chelsea for a fee of more than £20m.

The 21-year-old Ugochukwu spent two years at Stamford Bridge, making 15 appearances in all competitions during his first season before joining Southampton on a season-long loan for 2024-25.

Is it a good bit of business?

Or are you concerned by the fee for a player of limited Premier League experience?

Get in touch