SHORTLY after the final whistle went on Burnley’s 3-2 win against Everton on Wednesday evening, Maxwel Cornet was nowhere to be seen.

The Ivory Coast international’s late goal had just given Burnley a win that could prove hugely important to their bid to remain in the Premier League for a seventh consecutive season.

Surely he would want to revel in the goal and the victory, but as the players exited via the tunnel in an opposite corner of the ground to the dugouts, receiving the acclaim of the fans as they did, Cornet was not among them.

Then at the opposite end of the ground, fans began chanting Cornet’s name with increasing volume, and there he was, the match-winner, emerging from the crowd having just given his shirt to a supporter.

What followed was something of a lap of honour, not instigated by Cornet himself but by the fans. They sang his name as he made his way to the opposite corner and continued to do so after he disappeared down the tunnel.

It was a cold night at Turf Moor, and luckily a member of staff was on hand to provide a jacket for the now shirtless Cornet as he carried out his post-match media duties.

The 25-year-old spoke basic English on arrival in Lancashire but showed his progress off the pitch in his post-match interview.

“It’s a good sensation,” he said of his winning goal. “It’s because of the public it was a good game for us today, let’s continue.”

He glanced at Jay Rodriguez to check “public” was the correct word to use, and the Burnley-born forward nodded before himself commenting on Cornet’s impact on the team.

“I said to Max it’s a special night for him and he’s going to score, and he did,” said Rodriguez, who netted the second goal of the three.

“He’s been brilliant since he’s come in, a great lad to have around, everyone loves him and you can see the quality he’s got.”

Cornet’s eager adaptation to life at Burnley goes against the criticism, or at least wariness, of the transfer when the then-Lyon man was linked with the club last summer.

There was talk that he wouldn’t be able to settle in Lancashire, and that there were more glamorous options on the table.

There’s a ridiculous idea developing among those who comment on the game and, increasingly, on the game of fantasy football that is the transfer market, that a move to the north of England is somehow below rich footballers.

This type of attitude isn’t limited to Burnley or Lancashire clubs. It’s a notion often put forward when a player is linked to any team in the north of England, even the region’s powerhouses: Liverpool and the two Manchester clubs.

It’s also fuelled by players or managers choosing not to move there in the past.

When Zinedine Zidane was linked with the manager’s job at Manchester United, there were reports that his wife didn’t want to move to the city.

When Liverpool tried to sign Alexis Sanchez to replace Luis Suarez back in 2014, a deal was done but the player chose Arsenal instead as he and his family preferred London.

It’s something Newcastle fans will also have become increasingly familiar with recently now their team are being linked with players from across the globe.

The question is often asked: Why move to Lancashire or Newcastle when you can go to Madrid, Milan or Berlin? The latter being the case with Cornet who was rumoured to be joining a side from the German capital, Hertha.

There is a snobbish view towards the north of England, and even when defending it, there’s a tendency to point to parts of the north that are like rich areas of the south rather than those of more unique northern appeal.

No doubt many will have not even visited the areas they are belittling. Even just looking at the football stadiums, they are rich in football heritage, surrounded by communities as opposed to concrete bowls in empty suburbs.

Burnley’s ground itself sits aside terraced streets within the picturesque Lancashire hills, which can be seen in the background from the top of the North Stand, and echoes of the region’s industrial past can be seen on any route to the ground.

On top of the questions around the choice of club, town or city, there are also accusations thrown at players such as Cornet who transfer to low to mid-table Premier League sides that they are only moving for the money.

For players, the financial aspect does come into it. Why shouldn’t it? There are huge amounts of money in the game and it’s only right the players should be the ones to take a good percentage of that.

After all, it’s their work plus the atmosphere created by fans that play a big part in making football the spectacle it is.

The task for clubs is to find players who, while knowing that the wages they are on will help secure their family’s future, embrace a club, its supporters, teammates and community, and also have a desire to succeed in a sporting sense.

Cornet is obviously one such player. His Burnley colleagues regularly speak of his jovial character and eagerness to settle at the club. This doesn’t come down to just learning the language, but an overall mentality. He wants to improve the club but also become part of it.

And there’s no doubt he has added something Burnley didn’t have. He’d been on their radar for some time and prior to his move had been playing at left-back or left wing-back for Lyon.

This was good preparation for playing as a left-winger in Burnley’s 4-4-2 formation, and he’s also been used in the front two.

Though there is a defensive responsibility in Sean Dyche’s system, the manager wants to retain some of Cornet’s sense of freedom in attack.

“He brings an energy, a different way of playing,” Dyche said of Cornet after the Everton game.

“He sees the picture very well in the attacking sense. He can break the back line and cause trouble with his running — not just his play, but actually running off the ball, and he finds himself in the slot for the [winning] goal as well.

“I’d never want to take that bit of freedom away from him, but equally there’s that bit of framework we insist upon here, and it’s important because of the way the Premier League operates.”

The finances involved may mean Cornet is not able to remain with the club if they are relegated this season, but he will be trying as hard as anyone to make sure that doesn’t happen.

“I tried to do my best for my teammates for the club,” he added at the end of his post-match interview alongside Rodriguez.

“We know we need to win every game until the end of the season. It’s tough but we just want to continue.”

For Cornet, this challenge is something he is enjoying, and the Burnley fans who sang his name as he was last to leave the pitch on Wednesday night are certainly enjoying watching him.