Burnley announce the signing of defender Maxime Esteve from Ligue 1 side Montpellier on loan until the end of the season… with the 21-year-old revealing it was always his childhood dream to play in the Premier League.

The defender Maxime Esteve of Montpellier, a team in Ligue 1, has joined the Hurley Football Club on a loan deal that runs through the end of the current campaign.

The 21-year-old center back, who joined the team as a young player in 2011 and has played over 50 times in the last two and a half seasons, is a product of the Montpellier academy.

Upon joining the Clarets as their second acquisition of the January transfer window, Esteve declared, “I’m happy and feeling great. I’ve wanted to move here ever since I heard about the move.”

I am ecstatic because I have watched the Premier League since I was a small child and had only imagined myself being here.

“I wanted to be a part of this project right away because the manager, Vincent Kompany, spoke about it so well.”

Originally from Montpellier, Esteve attended the AS Canet academy for a while before enlisting in the ‘La Palade’ youth program.

After agreeing to a first professional contract in November 2019, the defender made his French team debut two years later against Olympique Marseille.

He began the current season on the bench for Montpellier, who are currently ranked 12th in Ligue 1, but he has since emerged as a key starter.

France has trained the center back at the U21 level.