BURNLEY HAVE COMPLETED the signing of Belgian international Steven Defour from Anderlecht for a club-record fee.
The midfielder put pen to paper on a three-year deal at Turf Moor after the two clubs agreed a fee believed to be in the region of €8.5 million.
Defour had previously been linked with a move to Manchester United back in 2009 with Sir Alex Ferguson said to have written to the player expressing his interest. A deal for him to move to the Premier League never materialised, nor did it in 2011 when Everton had a bid rejected.
The 28-year-old, capped 46 times by Belgium, will bring international pedigree to Burnley’s midfield with manager Sean Dyche previously saying they were struggling to compete in the transfer market.
His arrival is something of a coup, although he has recently lost his place in the Belgian side and was left out of his country’s Euro 2016 squad.
“I hope I can bring my experience to the team and the club to stay in the Premier League,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to every game. The atmosphere around the league is fantastic and everyone across the world has seen the Premier League, so I am very proud to be a part of that.
“It is a new challenge for me, but I like that.”
Burnley lost their first game back in the top-flight last weekend with Dean Marney and Scott Arfield starting in midfield in the 1-0 defeat to Swansea.
Defour’s experience could be crucial to their chances of staying afloat this campaign with the Belgian having won league titles domestically and in Portugal with Porto.
He is Burnley’s fourth and most significant signing since winning the Championship title last season, with hopes high among fans that Defour can replicate the influence of Joey Barton prior to his decision to join Rangers.
Dyche, who has also signed Icelandic international midfielder Johann Berg Gudmundsen, goalkeeper Nick Pope on a permanent basis and taken Liverpool fullback Jon Flanagan on loan, will be looking for Defour to make an immediate impact when they host Liverpool on Saturday.
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