Dyche tips Defour for leading role with Clarets

It’s been a long time coming but having finally secured the signature of Steven Defour, Sean Dyche expects the Belgian to make a big impact at Burnley.

The Clarets kicked off life in the Premier League with a 1-0 home defeat to Swansea on Saturday but responded by bringing in the 28-year-old midfielder.

Defour brings bags of experience to Turf Moor, having won 46 caps for Belgium while also playing Champions League football with both Porto and Anderlecht.

He signed off at Anderlecht in style with a goal in a 5-1 thrashing of Kortrijk and is set to be thrown straight into Saturday’s clash with Liverpool, with Dyche delighted to have got his man.

(Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)

Dyche said: “Steven was a target of ours and it’s been a hard deal to do, but we got there in the end.

“He’s a good player with a depth of experience at international level and also Champions League.

“Steven is new to the Premier League but has a real thirst and desire to be successful in this campaign.”

Defour has had to be patient, with the move in the pipeline for a while, but having finally made the switch he is relishing the chance to play in England.

He said: “I hope I can bring my experience to the team and the club to stay in the Premier League.

“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.

“It has been a long few weeks, but I am very happy to be here.

“When I knew that Burnley was interested, I took some time to look into the club and I saw some interesting stuff.

“I also called a friend of mine who plays at Brentford and he told me Burnley was the best team in the Championship and that it would be a really good choice for me.”