Steven Defour was seen as a marquee signing when he arrived at Burnley in 2016, with the Belgian joining the Clarets for a reported £8m fee which was a club record at the time.

Joining after their promotion to the Premier League, he was tasked with the tricky assignment of keeping the Lancashire outfit afloat at the top level, something that wasn't an easy task considering their limited budget.

Forking out the amount needed to lure Defour away from Anderlecht though, the club send a clear statement to the rest of their potential fellow relegation candidates with that signing with the midfielder recording three goals and ten assists in 42 competitive appearances during the campaign prior to his arrival at Turf Moor.

 

 

Unfortunately, he was unable to match that record in Lancashire despite being a reasonably regular figure for the English side, registering just two goals and four assists in 24 competitive displays during his first game at the club.

He was even less effective in terms of goalscoring contributions during the following campaign - but still had plenty of first-team appearances as he made 24 league appearances - scoring just once and recording just one assist in the process.

Unfortunately, he was unable to make up for his lack of ruthlessness in the final third during his last full term at Turf Moor, appearing just nine times in all competitions during 2018/19 with the latter stages of his spell being heavily disrupted by injuries.

And despite his talent, these injuries are the reason why his departure in August 2019 was seen as no great loss, though the midfielder described his spell at the club as being the best time of his career.

Since leaving Burnley, he has returned to his home nation, spending a season at Royal Antwerp and remaining in the Belgian top tier during the following season after that as well with Mechelen before retiring last year.

Joining the coaching staff of the latter club, he was previously assistant before being appointed permanent head coach this October following the sacking of Danny Bujis.

Managing to pick up his first win against Eupen last month, he has endured a mixed start to life in management with his side currently sitting 13th in the Belgian top tier.