Burnley sign Steven Defour in club-record £7.5m deal

The 28-year-old has agreed a three-year deal with the Premier League newcomers, who lost 1-0 to Swansea at Turf Moor on the opening day of the new season on Saturday.

Defour has won 46 caps for Belgium, and has also claimed national titles with Standard Liege in Belgium and Porto in Portugal before returning to the Belgian Pro League with Anderlecht in a £4.5m deal two years ago.

But he is likely to be involved in a relegation fight in England with his experience deemed vital as Sean Dyche's side bid to avoid relegation back to the Championship two years after suffering a similar fate at the end of the 2014/15 Premier League season.

"I hope I can bring my experience to the team and the club to stay in the Premier League," said Defour.

“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."

Dyche said Defour had been a target for some time.

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

“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.”