Persistent Dyche gets his man

Dyche tried to bring the former England winger to Turf Moor in the summer, but Lennon decided to stay at Everton at the time.

However, Dyche’s patience and persistence paid off this week.

Asked about Lennon being close to signing in the summer transfer window, Dyche said: “Things change quickly.

“When myself and my staff like a player, we follow them.

“I tried to sign Tarky (James Tarkowski) when he was at Oldham, and believe it or not we couldn’t afford him, but I kept tabs on him.

“Tom Heaton was another. When I got the sack at Watford I was just on the cusp of signing him.

“I said to his agent ‘I’ll be back’, and I was.

“Once I’ve got a feeling for a player, and my staff have, and we agree it, we generally like them for a reason.”

Burnley lost two of their pacier players in the summer in Andre Gray and Michael Keane, but this month has brought in Georges-Kevin Nkoudou on loan from Spurs, and now Lennon, to give his squad a different dimension.

Lennon also has vast experience at this level, having made 342 Premier League appearances, scoring 33 goals, and claiming 47 assists in 15 years.

Asked what Lennon will bring to the table, Dyche said: “The obvious one is his experience, along with his pace.

“He’s another rounded figure in the Premier League in our camp, because we haven’t got that many.

“He can rub off on the players as well, not necessarily with his voice – some do it by the way they go about their business, their understanding of the level.

“He’s got 21 England caps, that adds in to his experience level, so it’s a bit of everything.

“He’s a different type of players, a different player in our camp because we want to keep shifting it forward.

“It’s finding that nice balance between players who can develop with us, and players who are more rounded who can add to the group.”