Fans were left purring as Irish midfielder Josh Cullen made an impressive start at his new club, turning in an excellent performance for Burnley away to Huddersfield in the Sky Bet Championship season opener yesterday evening.
Cullen's debut had been highly anticipated and the central midfielder did not disappoint. In his first game for his new side, Cullen ran the show as Burnley beat Huddersfield 1-0 and made a winning start to the new season.
The 26-year old, who joined Burnley from Belgian side Anderlecht in a £3 million move earlier this summer is a firm favourite of new Clarets boss Vincent Kompany having played under him at Anderlecht last season. And in a development that will surprise no Irish fan, Cullen has already won over many Burnley supporters and set Twitter ablaze with excitement after his wonderful display last night.
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"Josh Cullen is Burnley’s most important player by a mile. Can tell after 20 mins," wrote ex Republic of Ireland striker Stephen Elliott.
"Josh Cullen has been absolutely magnificent, he’s been everywhere the main link to Burnley’s attacking play. That was a top quality signing and he’s going back in to help out with the defensive game. He’s running this game for the visitors at the moment," says journalist Josh Bunting.
"Josh Cullen is a Premier League level footballer. He’s going to have a lot of fun pulling strings in the Championship this season," says Twitter user Jack.
For his performance last night, Cullen, who's been capped 20 times for the Republic of ireland, was awarded the man of the match award. And it was fully deserved too, as we can see from the stats below, that the Irishman was by far the best player on the pitch in Huddersfield.
Life at Burnley has started wonderfully for Cullen at Burnley and he will be looking to put in another good display when The Clarets host Luton next Saturday.
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