Burnley looked at the Belgian market in the last transfer window after appointing Vincent Kompany as manager in June.
Manuel Benson was one of the new players to arrive at Turf Moor and he joined them from Royal Antwerp.
Prior to agreeing a deal to join the Clarets, Anderlecht came forward for his services. The 25-year-old, however, snubbed the Jupiler Pro League side in favour of making a switch to Burnley.
The winger revealed this during an interview with La Dernière Heure, when asked whether it is true that he had a chance to join Anderlecht in the summer.
“Yes, but several factors pushed me towards Burnley. Already, the departure of Kompany. I had a better feeling with the project he wanted to set up. I love Anderlecht, I spent part of my youth career there, but the choice of the project set up by Kompany was the most logical,” he said.
“It is not at all revenge [Anderlecht returning for him] but a proof of my evolution. My only objective is to show that I had the level to play in these clubs which did not believe in me.”
“I loved the way his Anderlecht played. I was really a fan of his style of play. They made us suffer with Antwerp last season. He wanted to play like that at Burnley. The choice was quickly made,” the player explained.
Benson has enjoyed a good start to his Burnley career, scoring six goals and registering five assists from 22 matches in all competitions this season.
When asked whether he was surprised with his adaption to the demands of the English football, the attacker stressed: “I had been warned [about the Championship] but my friend Ilias Chair [player at QPR] also told me that the image of the second division in England was not completely true.
“There are of course troublemakers, but this is also the case in Belgium. (laughs) Bellamy is teaching me to outsmart those guys.”
Benson also pointed that it is not easy to please Kompany at Burnley.
“He has the demands of a former Manchester City player, and he wants to pass it on to us. Automatically, you want to give as much as possible for a coach like him. His status and his name also make you have special respect for him,” the Belgian said.
“He really asks a lot. He wants you to give your all, even when you do your recovery and stretching. Sometimes you want to question what he’s saying, then you think about it and realise he’s right. And he confirms it on the field. When we respect what he asks of us, we often win our matches.”
