How West Ham taster gave Burnley’s new signing an appetite for the Premier League

The defender featured for Anderlecht against David Moyes’ side home and away during the group stage of the Europa Conference League last season, a tournament the Irons would later go on to win.

The 24-year-old, who has made the move to Turf Moor for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract, admits it was an opportunity he simply had to grasp.

“When we were in the Conference League we knew what teams we were going to play [in the group stage] and I really wanted to play West Ham,” he told Clarets+.

“Of course you want to play every game but this was something I really wanted to do and from there on you know it’s a different category.

“You see the stadium, you see the quality of the players, this is something where I thought if I could ever play in the Premier League it would be like a dream come true.

“It’s really different than in Belgium.”

Delcroix made his Anderlecht debut in 2018 and went on to make 61 appearances for the club, scoring twice.

The centre-back enjoyed a loan spell with Dutch outfit RKC Waalwijk during the 2019/20 campaign, where he made 23 appearances.

Delcroix would later go on to feature for Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht, a spell that he still looks back on with pride and was hugely influential on his decision to join the Clarets.

“When I was there it was very nice to have him as a coach because of course he was a defender before, so I learned a lot from him,” he said.

“For me coming here now, it’s a big opportunity and I can still progress under him. It’s a good choice to come here.

“It’s a different competition, it’s the Premier League and everybody knows it. It’s the best competition in the world at the moment.

“For me, it’s a big opportunity to come here. It’s a great team and it was not difficult for me to come here once I got this option.”