How is ex-Burnley FC star Steven Defour getting on? | OneFootball

We looked at what former Burnley midfielder Steven Defour is getting up to these days.

Burnley will be hoping to challenge for promotion from the Championship this season.

It was an incredibly disappointing campaign for the Clarets last season as they were relegated from the Premier League after just one year, but they will be looking to bounce back to the top flight at the first attempt.

Scott Parker was appointed as the new Burnley head coach in July following Vincent Kompany's shock move to Bayern Munich, and it was a busy summer as the 43-year-old rebuilt his squad, with 11 new signings arriving, including the likes of Vaclav Hladky, Joe Worrall, Lucas Pires, Hannibal Mejbri, Jaidon Anthony and Jeremy Sarmiento.

There were also a number of high-profile departures, such as Aro Muric, Vitinho, Dara O'Shea, Sander Berge, Anass Zaroury, Wilson Odobert and Wout Weghorst, but the mass exodus that was feared in the final stages of the transfer window did not materialise, much to Parker's relief.

If the Clarets are able to achieve their objective of returning to the Premier League this season, they will be looking to establish themselves back in the division, just as they did between 2016 and 2022 under Sean Dyche.

Burnley were not known to be big spenders during the Dyche era, but they did pay a club record fee of £8 million to sign midfielder Steven Defour from Anderlecht in the summer of 2016, and over five years on from his exit from Turf Moor, we looked at what he is getting up to these days.

Steven Defour's post-Burnley career

Defour spent three years at Burnley after his big money move to the club, but his time in Lancashire was disrupted by injury, and while he showed glimpses of his undoubted quality, Clarets supporters never fully got to see the best of him.

After an injury-hit 18 months, Defour's contract at Turf Moor was terminated for personal reasons in August 2019, and days later, he joined Royal Antwerp in his native Belgium, where he provided one assist in 12 appearances.

The following year, Defour made a return to Mechelen, where he had spent time in the academy in the early stages of his career, and after registering one assist in 19 games, he announced his retirement from football in May 2021 before becoming part of the coaching staff at the club.

Defour was appointed Mechelen head coach in October 2022 following the sacking of Danny Buijs, and he led his side to a respectable 13th-placed finish in the Belgian Pro League in the 2022-23 campaign, but the following season proved to be more challenging.

With the club sitting in the relegation zone, and having been knocked out of the Belgian Cup in the round of 32 by third tier side Royal Knokke, Defour was sacked in November 2023, departing after winning 15, drawing seven and losing 18 of his 40 games in charge.

The 36-year-old remains out of work after his dismissal by Mechelen, and it remains to be seen whether he will be keen to go back into management in the future.

However, he's still at the age where he could have some potential in the game on the touchline, so it's a case of sit back and watch where Defour ends up next.

Steven Defour reflects on Burnley spell

Defour enjoyed an impressive career, playing for the likes of Genk, Standard Liege, Porto and Anderlecht, as well as scoring two goals in 52 appearances for Belgium at international level, but after returning to Turf Moor in 2022, he claimed that his stint at Burnley was the best time of his career.

"It felt like coming home. I still know three quarters of the people there from my period as a player," Defour told Het Laatste Nieuws, quoted by the Lancashire Telegraph.

"Sean Dyche allowed me to follow everything. I attended staff meetings, participated in the preparation for the duels against Man United and Liverpool. I learned a lot.

"Burnley was the best period of my playing career. Both in sports and privately. The fans appreciate me there.

"I have always kept in touch with the coach. I regularly sent Dyche a message before a match. ‘Good luck, gaffer'.

"Last June, just before I started the season at KV Mechelen as an assistant, he proposed to participate in the preparation in Burnley and then see what was possible, but that was difficult due to the Covid restrictions."

Defour has maintained a positive relationship with Dyche, and the Everton manager said in February 2023 that he was planning to ask Defour to pass on advice to fellow Belgian midfielder Amadou Onana to help him adapt to the Premier League.

It seems that Defour's words of wisdom benefitted Onana as he made a £50 million move to Aston Villa this summer, and after a strong start to life at Villa Park, he has been nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award for August.