£3m Burnley FC transfer turned out to be a Clarets masterstroke | OneFootball

The Clarets star was a superb servant to the club in his time at Turf Moor 🟣

Burnley have had a number of record signings at the club in recent years, with some being superb additions to the club - whilst others have quite literally failed to play in entire league campaigns - but one of their recent record signings turned out to be one of their best-ever additions in comparison to others.

Sean Dyche took over the Clarets midway through the 2012/13 season, with the club's record signing being the £3million acquisition of Steven Fletcher all the way back in the 2009/10 campaign.

With the Clarets having failed to feature in the Premier League since that solo campaign, it meant Dyche was unlikely to break that record for some time - though an unexpected return to the top-flight just 18 months after he took over at the helm gave the club a huge wad of cash to spend in relative terms, where they spent around £10million in a bid to stay in the top-flight.

And, although they were relegated at the first time of asking, there was one player who stuck around and managed to set the Clarets on their way to a lengthy Premier League stay - in record signing George Boyd.

George Boyd was a superb signing and servant to Burnley FC

Landing from Hull City for a little over £3million on deadline day in August 2014, Boyd was thrust into action from the get go - and throughout the campaign, the only two games in the Premier League that he missed were whilst he was on Hull's books.

An ever-present for the Clarets, Boyd became a fan favourite with a number of important strikes - a thunderous effort against Newcastle United secured a point in December, whilst the first of a comeback at Manchester City saw the club earn an unlikely point at the Etihad Stadium just days before another strike against Newcastle at St. James' Park capped off a pulsating 3-3 draw.

Perhaps his best moment in a Burnley shirt once again came against City later that season, as his daisy-cutting effort from the edge of the box - which incidentally was headed out invitingly for him by future Clarets boss Vincent Kompany - saw Burnley record an unexpected 1-0 win over the then-Premier League champions.

And, although Boyd couldn't contribute further for the club that season, his efforts saw him continue into the Championship under Dyche. 12 goal contributions from the right-wing looked good on paper, but it was his never-say-die attitude and immense workmate that really wrote his name into the Clarets folklore, securing the Championship title with a run of 11 wins from 15 games to end the season.

Further to that, Boyd then continued to be a key player for Dyche in the 16/17 campaign back in the Premier League - and although the goals somewhat dried up for the winger, he was a huge contributor to their first-ever survival in the top-flight.

Boyd's value for money trumps almost all of Burnley's record signings

For that alone, Boyd turned out to be a hugely successful signing. Burnley have had various record signings since; Andre Gray smashed Boyd's record the season after he joined with a £9million move from Brentford, before Jeff Hendrick and Robbie Brady signed a year later.

Chris Wood, Ben Gibson, Wout Weghorst, Zeki Amdouni and Mike Tresor have all been their record signings ever since - and of that eight-player list, not many have fared better than Boyd.​​​​​​​

Gray should earn gravitas for his efforts in securing promotion for Burnley, and his nine-goal haul in the Premier League then saw him move on to Watford for double what Burnley paid for him - whilst Wood's efforts still have him as Burnley's highest scorer in Premier League history with 49, before he moved onto Newcastle in January 2022.

Hendrick, Brady and Amdouni have split opinions at Turf Moor, but Gibson's spell after signing from Middlesbrough was a disaster. Weghorst couldn't keep them in the division after becoming Wood's replacement - and Tresor is still on the club's books, though he is yet to make a league appearance for the Clarets this term in one of the most bizarre situations involving a player in Turf Moor history.

Given how much Burnley have spent on those acquisitions, Boyd's time in east Lancashire as a record signing should be looked upon favourably, with many having flopped and failed to make any impact at Turf Moor.