MICHAEL Keane deserves to be named among best emerging talents in the Premier League, according to Clarets boss Sean Dyche.

The Burnley defender is on the shortlist of six starlets up for the PFA Young Player of the Year award – along with Spurs pair Delle Ali and Harry Kane, Manchester City winger Leroy Sane, Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and Everton striker Romelu Lukaku, who he faces at Goodison Park tomorrow.

Keane was rewarded for his excellent form this season with his first two England caps last month, and Dyche is delighted to see his centre-half being recognised again, this time by his fellow professionals.

The Burnley boss said: “I think he’s pleased. He’s a pretty steady lad, he’s very respectful of the team around him and the staff and how they’ve tried to help him.

“It’s a great sign for him and he deserves to be in that company.

“He’s having a very strong season and I just think he’s developed well over the last two-and-a-half-seasons.”

Dyche is also relieved to see Keane’s name on the list as the prospect of developing into a top talent played a part in enticing the defender away from Manchester United two years ago.

Dyche added: “I’m pleased because part of my sales pitch to get him here was that he’d be in a group that would develop and he’d be a big part of that.

“So I’m pleased from our point of view that it rang true for him.

“But he deserves a lot of credit. The team is the most important thing but you still need individuals to perform and he’s done that.

“We’re not shining lights of the Premier League or a superpower, so for other players to see that and say, ‘Hang on a minute, he’s been terrific in a smaller side at a smaller club is good’, it’s good of his peers to recognise that.

“He’s in some very good company, some players who are having absolutely fine seasons.”

Keane himself is determined too share the credit for the nomination.

He said: “I’m very happy to be in it and honoured, but the bigger picture is I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and how the team has performed, so it’s all down to them.”

Burnley turned down a £15million bid for the 24-year-old from Premier League champions Leicester City last summer and are sure to have another battle on their hands to keep him this year.

Chelsea and Manchester United are among the rumoured suitors, and Everton boss Ronald Koeman is another admirer of the defender, whose Clarets contract runs out at the end of next season.

But Dyche says his players are used to the speculation and it’s a sign things are going well at Turf Moor.

“He’s had it all season,” said the manager. “He had it last season too.

“It’s not new to the players. We’ve been fortunate in the sense that a lot of people have been interested in a lot of Burnley players for a long time now, so they all kind of get used to it.

“You must be doing something right, or your players must be doing something right, for people to be speaking about them.

“It’s a double-edge sword. You want your players to be doing well enough to be recognised, then when they’re recognised you can’t cry about it.”