Burnley left back Pieters always dreamed of making the move to the Premier League and following Bergkamp

The Burnley left back was inspired to follow a long line of Dutch players to move over to England, in particular Dennis Bergkamp, who joined Arsenal from Inter Milan in 1995., and spent 11 years with the Gunners, becoming one of the most revered foreign players in the league.

Pieters made the move to Turf Moor in the summer from Stoke City, having spent six years in the Potteries after leaving PSV Eindhoven.

He started his career in the youth ranks at VV Rhelico in Rumpt, before being spotted by FC Utrecht, and he looked back on his early days in the game: "My family were basically all football, my friends were playing football, so at a young age I always wanted to play football.

"Then in a small village, about 600 people living there, I started at a local team where all my friends were playing, and I got an invite to train with the academy at FC Utrecht.

"A good friend of my father was working there, the head scout of the academy, and all the testing, all the games I played, they wanted me at the academy.

"That was at the age of 14."

At Utrecht, in 2007 he helped the Netherlands win the European Under 21 Championships, and the year after he was off to Eindhoven: "We played Champions League the first year, it was really lovely to make the transfer, I had two good years at FC Utrecht, then the move to PSV was a no-brainer really.

"A step up in the Dutch league, and then try to make sure I reserve my spot at left back there, to show what I can do, become an international as well.

"I played Europa League, Champions League, so it was a good step up."

European football was obviously a draw, but his heart was set on a move to England.

He almost ended up in the North East, before joining Stoke: "When I was young, I always watched Match of the Day on a Sunday morning, and at that point, Bergkamp was playing at Arsenal, so I don't have to say too much about his qualities.

"During all those years watching the Premier League, so many good Dutch players came through, van Persie of course as well, so many good players, and the level I saw on television, I was always intrigued to play in the Premier League.

"I just loved to watch the game, as a young kid you love to watch football, and watch the Dutch players play. I didn't have a specific team I supported, I just couldn't wait every Sunday morning to sit at the side of my bed and watch the footy.

"For me, I was close to making a move to Newcastle first, but unfortunately got some injuries and that transfer didn't go through.

"So I kept myself together and worked hard to make sure I would play in the Premier League one day.

"Stoke came at the right moment, the right time, to make a decision."

Pieters was a regular at Stoke for five seasons, helping the club finishing in the top half of the table for three-successive campaigns: "I made my debut against Liverpool, away, so to play your first Premier League game at Anfield was great.

"It was everything I was expecting and maybe more, to play in the Premier League.

"It's nice to play as the underdog, so, of course, when the big games come up, you are motivated to show them what you've got as a team, so it's nice, at that period at Stoke, we were really flying, we were ninth three years in a row, so we were a really good side.

"It was fun, a really good team to play in.

"Unfortunately in the end everything went a bit down, with the relegation as well, which still hurts, but to be playing in the good times at Stoke was wonderful."

Stoke would be relegated in 2018, which still hurts Pieters: "It's been really tough, to be honest, it's just like the kind of moment in your career you don't want to look back at.

"I think, from every negative there is also positives, at that point, when you're at the level of the Premier League, you have to do everything to make sure you don't go down, and it was really tough to realise you're going a league down.

"Being there for such a long time, in the good times, always the bad times just around the corner, and it was just tough to take."