Confirmed: Dale Stephens moves to Burnley for £1m

Dale Stephens to Burnley is a done deal with the midfielder leaving Brighton & Hove Albion for Turf Moor for a fee of £1 million.

Stephens has signed a two-year deal with the Clarets. He will replace Jeff Hendrick, who moved to Newcastle United earlier in the summer on a free transfer.

Burnley have been long-term admirers of Stephens and first tried to sign him in 2016 after they won promotion to the Premier League. They had six offers turned down by Tony Bloom in a long running transfer saga, a reminder that the Albion do not sell unless they really want to.

Stephens instead remained at the Amex, being one of the most important players in Chris Hughton’s side which brought top flight football to Sussex in the 2016-17.

He signed a new contract at the conclusion of that memorable campaign. Stephens celebrated promotion and his four-year deal by singing about Burnley being a shithole live on stage in front of tens of thousands of people at the Brighton promotion parade.

There is an important lesson in there about not getting on a microphone when pissed out of your mind and slagging off another town, just in case you find yourself working there several years down the line.

Once in the Premier League, Stephens helped the Albion establish themselves in the top flight under both Hughton and then Graham Potter.

Until he picked up a suspension last December, he was one of the first names on Potter’s team sheet. That came as something of a surprise to all those Dale Stephens haters out there, who were adamant that his sideways passing and boring style would be instantly cast aside by the attack minded Potter.

Yves Bissouma was a surprise pick to replace Stephens in the game he missed as Brighton drew 1-1 at Crystal Palace. Bissouma had never really shown the tactical discipline or the work rate needed to fulfil the holding midfield role before, but he was an absolute revelation and has since made the spot his own.

With Graham Potter now using Steve Alzate as a central midfielder rather than a right back/left back/right winger/left winger/number 10/striker/goalkeeper, competition for places in the centre of midfield is fierce.

Which is why Stephens moving to Burnley from Brighton is a deal that suits all parties. Burnley pick up a player they have long admired, Brighton get £1 million for someone who was out of contract next summer and Stephens gets the regular football he needs at 31, plus the security of a two-year deal. The Albion were said to only be offering a one year extension.

Stephens’ departure means that just two of the 2016-17 promotion winning squad remain at the Amex – Lewis Dunk and Solly March. It also means that March is likely to become the boo boys new favourite, a role Stephens had filled for the past few seasons.

We will never understand that hatred of Stephens. His detractors complained that he gave the ball away too easily, and yet last season he had the second best pass completion rate at the club after Lewis Dunk.

They would say that Stephens never passed forward, failing to understand that his job was to keep the ball moving rather than pick out through balls like prime Xavi.

When he needed to produce something spectacular, he could – just ask Anthony Knockaert, who would never have been able to score his stunner at Selhurst without Stephens’ 40 yard raking pass.

There were complaints about his goal contribution (the much-loved Bissouma has one in 51 Premier League games) and the fact he was constantly dispossessed, which was just an outright fabrication as his ball retention statistics prove.

As we wrote yesterday, Stephens should be considered a Brighton great. No Albion midfielder other than Jimmy Case has been a first choice for six years at such a high level.

His record of 223 appearances, 15 goals, three top six finishes in the Championship, three successful Premier League campaigns and an FA Cup semi final deserves respect.

Sean Dyche and Burnley – a manager and club who finished way ahead of the Albion last season – clearly see that he has something to offer in the top flight still. That should tell you everything about how good Stephens is, providing you are able to look past the anti-Stephens agenda.

His destination is also an indication of how strong Brighton are this season. That our fourth choice midfielder has been signed by a side who finished 10th last season to be a regular starter points to the exciting times that should be ahead for the Albion.

None of which would be possible without Stephens’ contribution to getting and keeping us in the top flight in the first place. Thanks for the memories and good luck at Burnley.

Now, where can we get odds on him scoring a worldie against the Albion on November 7th?