Keane up there with Stones - Heaton

Burnley have turned down a series of offers from Leicester City this summer, and Heaton is not surprised the champions are interested in him: “No, not at all to be honest. When we were in the Premier League last time he did very well and last year he had another fantastic year. At his age, as an English centre-half, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s good on the ball.”

Asked whether he is far behind Stones, Heaton added: “Not all. He’s been brilliant and he has an awful lot of potential.”

And he is looking forward to playing behind Keane and Ben Mee: “They’ve been outstanding, both of them. Last season, in particular, they were incredible.

“They’re both fantastic defenders first and foremost and have a lot more to their game.

“It’ll be great to start the season for them playing against some of the top strikers in the world.

“It seems to be a partnership that works very well. Since Ben moved to centre back it’s really clicked. The number of games we won last season by one goal, that’s when you need to really rely on you centre halves.”