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Darikwa joins Burnley

Sport
ZIMBABWE international defender Tendayi Darikwa has joined English Championship football side Burnley on a three-year contract after five seasons at Chesterfield.

ZIMBABWE international defender Tendayi Darikwa has joined English Championship football side Burnley on a three-year contract after five seasons at Chesterfield.

BY MICHAEL MADYIRA

Having declined to extend his stay at Chesterfield where he still had a season left on his contract, Darikwa opted for a switch to Burnley for an undisclosed fee.

The highly-rated 23-year-old rose through Chesterfield’s youth ranks with his best season being last term where he raked four gongs including the club’s Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year.

He was once on the radar of Manchester United during David Moyes’ time at Old Trafford.

“Dean Saunders (Chesterfield manager) tried to persuade Tendayi to agree a new deal, but he was adamant that he wanted to leave and submitted a couple of transfer requests. I can appreciate Tendayi’s position because he is keen to further his career by playing in the Championship,” said Chesterfield in a statement.

“We were left with the prospect of trying to keep an unsettled player for the season, knowing that we would lose him for nothing at the end of the campaign, so we felt that we had to secure the best fee possible in order to move on and grant Tendayi his wish of playing Championship football.”

Burnley were relegated to the Championship from the English Premier League last season.

Darikwa, who is also comfortable as a right winger, appears unappreciated in Zimbabwe despite expressing interest to play for the Warriors.