Derby County have re-signed Jason Shackell after agreeing an undisclosed fee with Burnley.
The 32-year-old defender made 49 appearances for the Rams before joining Burnley in the summer of 2012 for £1.1m.
The Return to Derby
Three years on and Shackell has returned to Derby, with the East Midlands club splashing out a fee believed to be in excess of £3m to recapture the centre-back.
Derby have made several bids for Shackell this summer, all of which were rejected, but Clarets boss Sean Dyche believes the latest offer was one he could not refuse.
Dyche said: “Communication travels quickly in football and it’s fair to say Derby had made an offer to him that was so large he felt he couldn’t refuse it.
“That is still the reality. Outside the Premier League, there are still some clubs who are throwing a decent amount of money at their situation to try to be in the Premier League.
“Derby, quite obviously, are one of them and his motivation was to go for the contract that was on offer.
“We felt we had to stand strong as we have done to make sure we got the required amount of money for him and that has come to a point now.”
The loss of their club captain will certainly come as a blow to Burnley, who are still reeling after losing Kieran Trippier to Tottenham earlier this summer and Danny Ings to Liverpool.
Improving on the defensive side
Derby, on the other hand, will see the addition of Shackell as a vital move to bolster their defence, which was found wanting as the Rams missed out on a Championship play-off spot last season.
He is the seventh player to join Derby this summer and follows the likes of Darren Bent, Alex Pearce, Scott Carson, Andreas Weimann, Chris Baird and Tom Ince, who have all joined the club since the beginning of June.
The Rams Head Coach Paul Clement said: “We’re thrilled that Jason Shackell has become our latest acquisition; he is an experienced defender at both Premier League and Championship level.
“I know that the Derby County fans will know all about his qualities already, following his previous spell at the club.
“We feel that we have made a number of exciting signings this summer and this one certainly falls into that category.
“We’re delighted that he has chosen to join us and I look forward to working with him.”