The 21-year-old Northern Ireland international completed a £1m-plus move from Scunthorpe United yesterday after agreeing personal terms.

The deal sees the club pay the Iron an initial £1m, plus £300,000 based on appearances, with a 20% sell-on clause also included.

That beats the £1m paid to Stockport County for Ian Moore in 2000, and Bradford City for Robbie Blake in 2002.

And it comes days after the club record sale was shattered, with Kyle Lafferty finally completing his move to SPL giants Rangers on Thursday night.

That was valued at £3m, plus £250,000 on appearances, 10% of any future profit, and an additional, undisclosed payment, agreed after Light Blues attacking midfielder Alan Gow ruled out a move to Turf Moor.

But Coyle was set for his first permanent signing since taking the reins at the club in November, and there is likely to be more to follow before the Clarets return to pre-season training next Tuesday.

He is excited at the prospect of working with the former Stoke City forward, who cost Scunthorpe an initial £275,000 last summer, and he said: "There's no doubt what we are getting – a player who is hungry, and scored 15 goals in the Championship in a team which was relegated.
"I would like to think he can recreate that, and then some."

And he fits the template of Coyle's new team – young, vibrant and pacy: "He is lightning quick, with pace to burn and a great work rate.
"He works his socks off, which is what I like in a player.

"He's 20, a Northern Ireland international, and for me, he will only get better.

"We want younger types in to boost the team, and he fits the bill.
"He will give us an extra dimension to the very good players we have already got at the club, and it is a good piece of business."

Paterson scored his first Scunthorpe goal against the Clarets in a 2-0 win at Glanford Park last August, but since Coyle's arrival in November, he has impressed the former St Johnstone boss: "He's a lad I've liked the look of since day one.

"He immediately took my eye.

"We watched him on a number of occasions and were taken by him."

There was reported interest in the player from Championship rivals Cardiff, Norwich and Ipswich, and Coyle was delighted to win the race for his signature: "A host of Championship clubs wanted him – bigger clubs than us tried to get him.

"It's two-fold, when you speak to a player, you want to know if they have the same focus, ideas and ambitions, and we knew he wanted to come and join Burnley.

"I think he's got everything we look for in a player."

Having originally registered interest in the striker with a £400,000 offer, which was turned down, a second bid, at £450,000 plus £100,000 based on appearances and a final installment should the Clarets be promoted to the Premier League, was also rejected.

Some fans may then feel £1m plus £300,000 in add-ons, and a sell-on clause, is an excessive fee, but Coyle feels he is value for money: "He's an international, and he's done it at Championship level, scoring 15 goals.

"There is a premium you pay for goalscorers, and, with his injury towards the end of the season, he played 36 games, scoring at just under a goal every two games, which is an excellent record."

Paterson will look to learn from Coyle, who enjoyed a prolific career himself, and Coyle added: "He was very young when he was at Stoke, but showed he is a very good player when he was given his chance at Scunthorpe.

"He's shown what he's all about, and he will look to do the same again here.

"Being a striker myself, hopefully we can help bring him on further here."

Patience has been a virtue for Coyle, and after a summer of speculation, he was happy to have landed his first permanent signing at the club: "I know what type of player I wanted, and I wasn't going to bring players in for the sake of it.

"We are bringing them in for a reason, because we think they are big pieces of the jigsaw."