'Love this club': Maxime Esteve on his Burnley future and promotion battle with Leeds United and Sheffield United

The centre-back has been one of, if not the standout performer for the Clarets this season during their Championship promotion charge.

An ever-present in the heart of Scott Parker’s defence, not missing a single league game, the Frenchman has been a step above anyone else at this level.

Unsurprisingly, the 22-year-old has drawn plenty of interest from elsewhere, with recent reports suggesting the likes of Everton and AC Milan have sent scouts to watch him.

Esteve, however, has one focus and one focus only: helping the Clarets back to the top flight.

“I am a Burnley player, I love this club and I'm very, very good here,” he told the Burnley Express.

“So I don't think about nothing, nowhere, I just think about football in Burnley and finish the season very well. That's the most important, finishing in the Premier League. That's the objective. I just think about this.”

Having enjoyed a brief taste of the Premier League from last January onwards, Esteve is understandably keen to get back there as soon as possible.

“This club deserves it,” Esteve added. “For me, this is a Premier League club. I said when I came on the first day, this is a Premier League club.

“They deserve to come back in the Premier League, so I just hope we will be in that situation.”

The centre-back added: “It would be amazing [to help Burnley win promotion], but I don't think too much about this.

“I just take it game-by-game and we will see on May 3 where we are.

“We start with Norwich on Friday night and then we have four games after that. But it will be over very quickly because in maybe two weeks the season is done.

"But honestly, we play football for this type of moment. We are very excited about this, about this situation. We’re on 85 points. For me, it’s a very good season for the team and we are proud about this.

"We are on the final road. We focus on Norwich and then we will see.”