“I was scared”: Burnley star on first impressions after signing, reveals what Kompany told him

Burnley full-back Vitinho is today featured in an interview with the Brazilian media.

The 24-year-old spoke to Premier League Brasil, and talked about how things have been going for him at the Clarets.

Vitinho was first quizzed about the Championship, as in his first year in England, he managed to win the title with Burnley.

The player claims he got surprised with the quality he found, and says that’s actually a great entrance door for Brazilians in English

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“I’ll tell you the truth: before arriving in England, I didn’t follow the Championship. And when I arrived, I was scared. Due to the level of games and clubs. At the beginning of the season, you see that everyone can fight their way up. There are 46 games and I think we only played on a more or less pitch just once. All the others were tops.”

“The Championship is ahead of many leagues, even the Belgian one I was in. The Brasileirão is very good, in technical and individual levels, it’s among the top 5. The Championship is totally different, it is tougher, more rush, more duels. You cannot waver at any time.”

“A Brazilian going to the Championship, especially the younger ones, is a beautiful championship for you to adapt. You’ll learn a lot, see what England is like. Of course it’s not the Premier League, but you can feel it.”

Vitinho also talked about his chances of playing for Brazil one day. And he claims that Burnley manager Vincent Kompany has actually been supportive of his dream, even though he probably doesn’t know the national team’s new coach yet.

“Kompany told me that he sees me with many chances to play in the national team, which is why I work every day and that, if it’s up to him, I’ll be called up. So it’s just up to me. But he doesn’t talk about Diniz, I don’t think he knows who he is.”

Burnley only spent €1m to sign Vitinho from Cercle Brugge last summer, and the investment was certainly worth it.

After being an important player in the Championship title, he now already started the Premier League season with a place in the team, playing for the 90 minutes in the opening fixture against Manchester City, despite the Clarets’ 3-0 loss.