Record-breaking £8m Burnley FC transfer could have been so much more | OneFootball

Steven Defour made quite the impact in the short space of time he had to impress at Burnley

In the Sean Dyche era at Burnley, foreign players were few and far between, but the one who has a firm place in the hearts of all Clarets fans is Steven Defour.

Dyche preferred to go for British talent in his time at Burnley as it was easier to carry out background checks on the players before signing, but he broke to mould to bring Defour to Burnley in 2016.

The Belgian moved to Turf Moor for a then-club record fee of £8m and brought with him the weight of expectation, although that didn't last too long, as a matter of weeks later, Burnleybroke that record to sign Jeff Hendrick from Derby.

Defour had a fantastic pedigree in the game from his youth days, when only an injury prevented him from joining Manchester United under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson, but since that move broke down, he'd lost his way a little.

He was able to impress enough at Anderlecht to earn a move to the Premier League, but Burnley fans will always be left with a bitter taste of what could've been with Defour.

It was the story of his career in truth, but a wretched injury record essentially ruined Defour's Turf Moor career.

Most Burnley fans were acutely aware that the only reason he played for them in the first place was because of his poor injury record, as if a player of his ability was fit every week then he'd likely be playing at the very top level.

But that didn't mean that they weren't disappointed to see him on the sidelines week in week out.

Even when he did play, the Belgian didn't have it in his legs to play 90 minutes all that often, so his appearances were often short and sweet, but in that time he was certainly easy on the eye in footballing terms.

Most Clarets fans would acknowledge that he's technically one of the best players they've seen play for them in their lives, but he simply couldn't stay fit, with the most league games he ever played for Burnley in a single season being 24.

In total, he only ever played 58 times for Burnley, but it's the impact he made in that time which will never be forgotten.

Defour was pivotal in Burnley reaching the Europa League

It's telling that the aforementioned 24 game season, was the one in which Burnley got into Europe, which goes to show just how influential he was on the team.

It was the small things he did that often went unnoticed by the average game-goer - the dropping into defence to create overloads and instrumenting attacks from deep - and that all played its part in creating the perfect storm that season.

He was a key cog in the heart of the Clarets midfield, turning in solid performances week in week out, which at one point helped Burnley climb to fourth in the Premier League, something which was unheard of at the time.

While he can't take sole praise for that, he was certainly a key part of the team, so it was a cruel blow to see him ruled out for the remainder of that season in January 2018 when he suffered another knee injury.

Burnley's form took a nosedive while he was out of the side, but fortunately they were able to find their feet towards the end of the season enough to cement their spot in the Europa League qualifying rounds.

Unfortunately for Defour, that injury meant he was robbed of the chance to play in Europe with the Clarets and he only went on to make nine more appearances upon returning.

It's fair to say that injuries not only robbed Burnley fans of seeing the best of Defour, but they also robbed him of a career at the very top level.