Now that Leeds United’s promotion to the Premier League is confirmed, attention will inevitably turn to how they prepare for their first top-flight campaign since 2003/04.
Transfers will be the biggest issue, and manager Marcelo Bielsa will no doubt already have his main targets in mind.
But another thing worth keeping in mind is the way in which other promoted clubs have prepared for life in the Premier League.
We’ve looked at the key decisions made by the nine clubs promoted over the past three seasons for some clues to Leeds' survival…
Aston Villa (2019/20)
The most important thing for Villa was keeping hold of Jack Grealish for at least one more year.
The midfielder was a different player to the one who impressed in their last relegation campaign in 2015/16. However, in a tight relegation battle, his quality was always likely to make the difference between success and failure.
Another of Villa’s key men, Tyrone Mings, was picked up for a hefty chunk of Villa’s summer budget after a successful loan form Bournemouth in the Championship. Now that could give Leeds some food for thought.
Norwich City (2019/20)
Norwich kept faith with most of the men who took them up to the top flight. They barely invested in their squad and that lack of depth cost them in the end as they made a quick return to the second tier.
The Canaries’ few summer arrivals played just 2,739 minutes between them all season, contributing a single goal in the form of Josip Drmic’s consolation in a home defeat by Villa.
Sam Byram was the only man to play more than 1,000 league minutes after joining last summer.
While they didn’t do enough to stay up, Daniel Farke’s side made enough of an impression to generate plenty of transfer interest this summer. Todd Cantwell, Ben Godfrey Emi Buendia and Max Aarons are among those to catch the eye.
Sheffield United (2019/20)
The Blades are proof that you don’t have to spend the earth to prosper in the top flight.
They are also another side who benefited from being able to keep hold of a loanee who helped them climb up to the top flight, in this case goalkeeper Dean Henderson, although the Manchester United man merely extended his loan rather than making a permanent switch.
Most of the Blades’ summer signings took up fringe roles in Chris Wilder’s system, with Mo Besic seeing his loan cut short and Callum Robinson going out on loan in January after having joined in what was, at the time, a club-record deal.
However, the biggest attacking contribution was made by Lys Mousset and Oli McBurnie, two men with limited Premier League experience who nevertheless had something to offer United and chipped in with big goals.
Cardiff City (2018/19)
Cardiff’s summer wasn’t especially adventurous, at least compared to the other sides promoted with them in 2010, but in Josh Murphy and Bobby Decordova-Reid they attracted two standout second-tier performers from the previous season.
The biggest impact was made by a less obvious recruit, Victor Camarasa joining on loan from Real Betis and winning the Players’ Player of the Season award for the Bluebirds.
Perhaps stung by some less-than-impressive big money recruits in their previous Premier League campaign, Neil Warnock’s side also ensured their squad would not need too much of an overhaul upon relegation.
Fulham (2018/19)
Fulham went to the other extreme, spending more than £100m on what looked like, even at the time, an unfocused spree.
There were areas where you could see the logic of their business, most notably the decision to spend £22m to make Aleksandar Mitrovic’s loan from Newcastle United permanent.
Not only did the Serbian top score for his club in their relegation campaign, he also bagged more than anyone else in the 2019/20 Championship to take Scott Parker’s side into the play-offs.
Elsewhere, questionable decisions included the recruitment of two new goalkeepers when Marcus Bettinelli was already around, and neither Fabri nor Sergio Rico have been seen around west London this season.
Wolverhampton Wanderers (2018/19)
Despite their spending power, Wolves’ player investment has been relatively low-risk in both of their seasons back in the Premier League.
The key in 2018 was permanent moves for the players who had helped them win promotion while on loan, most notably Willy Boly and Diogo Jota, supplemented by experience in Joao Moutinho and an unknown quantity in Adama Traore.
Sure enough, they repeated the trick in summer 2019 with successful loanees Raul Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker sticking around a little longer. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Brighton & Hove Albion (2017/18)
Brighton bucked the “loan made permanent” trend in 2017, although in fairness this was only because loanee Glenn Murray had made the switch from Bournemouth in January.
Instead, their post-promotion business involved heavy investment in players with no Premier League experience - the sort of thing we’re repeatedly told isn’t meant to work.
And yet, three years on, Mat Ryan is as important as ever, while Pascal Gross and Davy Propper - big factors in survival that first season - have continued to play their part under Graham Potter.
Huddersfield Town (2017/18)
The Terriers moved quickly to make sure Aaron Mooy and Elias Kachunga stuck around after helping them earn promotion, but only the former made a significant top-flight impact.
A fair few of David Wagner’s signings had a big part to play in their survival bid, though, with Jonas Lossl and Mathias Jorgensen helping secure a tough-to-break-down defence, Steve Mounie top-scoring and Tom Ince netting the late winner against Watford which all but clinched survival.
It was certainly a more impactful window than the following summer, that much is true.
Newcastle United (2017/18)
Having bounced straight back following their 2016 relegation, the signings made by Newcastle in their previous top-flight existence were just as important as those recruited in 2017, if not more so.
Jamaal Lascelles, Jonjo Shelvey and more were in better nick having spent a season winning promotion, while other key men from that promotion season - including Matt Ritchie and Mohamed Diame - also impressed.
Of the summer recruits, Florian Lejeune made an impact in that debut season but it was a campaign more about the existing squad.
