Burnley have completed their first signing of the summer, with the capture of Derby County defender Tyrone Mears.

The Clarets have agreed a fee with the Rams in the region of £500,000 for the 26-year-old, who has signed a three-year deal at Turf Moor.

Mears is officially unveiled as Burnley's first Premier League signing

And manager Owen Coyle believes Mears is an ideal acquisition as he looks to strenghten his squad for life in the top-flight.

"We are delighted to get Tyrone. He is a player with real pace and we have been looking for that in the full back areas." said Coyle.

"He is hungry, still relatively young and desperate to do well.

"He was on loan at Marseille last year and did terrifically well - so much so that they wanted to sign him permanently.

"Fortunately, he wanted to be back in England and we know he will do well here because he has already shown a desire to show everyone that he is a Premier League player.

"Here at Turf Moor he will get the opportunity."

Mears becomes the first summer signing by the Clarets.

And despite mounting speculation linking him with a plethora of players, Coyle insisted

"We will only sign players when they come available and they are the right type of player."

Mears takes in his new surroundings at Turf Moor

Mears started his career at Manchester City, but after struggling to breakthrough to the first team, the Jamaican international joined Preston North End in July 2002.

He signed a three-year deal at Deepdale and went on to make 70 appearances for the Lilywhites, before being sold to West Ham for £1m in July 2006.

The right-back went on to make just six appearances for the Upton Park outfit and after a loan spell at Derby, where he was a member of the team that won the Championship play-off final, he completed a permanent transfer to Pride Park in summer 2007 for £1m.

Mears made an excellent start to life in the Premier League and was one of the Rams' most consistent players until he picked up a stress fracture in January which ruled him out for three months.

He returned to action at the end of March and went on to score his first top-flight goal in April, capping a superb performance away at his former club West Ham.

In August 2008 Mears flew out to France to join Olympique-Marseille on loan, where he made seven appearances helping the team progress to the UEFA Cup quarter-final.

Mears will wear squad number 14 at Turf Moor.

 There is an exclusive interview with Burnley's first new summer signing now on Clarets World. Don't miss it!

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