London (AFP) – Burnley have signed Czech forward Matej Vydra from second-tier side Derby on a three-year deal, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old, who scored a league-leading 21 goals in the Championship last season, will be hoping to have a bigger impact on the English top flight than he did in previous disappointing spells in the Premier League with Watford and West Brom.
Burnley, who have already signed centre-back Ben Gibson from Middlesbrough and former England goalkeeper Joe Hart from Manchester City in the close season, did not disclose how much they paid for Vydra.
“I think five years ago I was like a kid in the Premier League. Now I feel I have more experience in English football, I speak better English and I have learned more in England, so I hope I’m a better player than five years ago,” Vydra told Burnley’s website.
“For the last four years I have been fighting to be in the Premier League.
“I haven’t done it with the teams I was playing for and sometimes it has to be done with a transfer and now I’m so happy.”
Vydra has made 20 international appearances for the Czech Republic, scoring five goals.
Sean Dyche’s Burnley take on Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey on Thursday in Europa League qualifying, before kicking off their Premier League campaign at Southampton on Sunday.
