Signing has been confirmed this afternoon

See link
http://www.uptheclarets.com/defour-joins-antwerp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One less wage to pay i suppose, pity we didn't see more of him but injuries kept him out for the most of his clarets days, a classy player when he was fit though. Good luck to him.

I know he didn’t play much but I’m gutted to see him leave. I guess I was still hoping for a miracle. Class act.

It will be interesting to see how many games he plays.

Retired within 2 years

moaninclaret wrote:One less wage to pay i suppose, pity we didn't see more of him but injuries kept him out for the most of his clarets days, a classy player when he was fit though. Good luck to him.

He wouldn't have signed in the first place had he not been so injury-prone. Fergie wanted him at Man U but was put off by his injuries.

Said in his interview that he'd already rejoined group training at Burnley, says he's fit but cannot set a date when he'll be available for match selection.

I take it from that he's not fully match fit at the moment, so certainly quite a way off being Dyche fit.

couldn't we have 'transferred' him to Antwerp and got a small fee?

They will be paying him the fee we have waived presumably.

Did we pay his contract up.

Be very interesting to see when he plays his first game for Antwerp. Guess we will find out then if he was really unfit or just wanted to go home

What's the matter? Did he hit the clause in his contract that states he doesn't earn anymore after X days injured?

We all know what he was after.

Lord Rothbury wrote:Did we pay his contract up.

Contract cancelled by mutual consent, which is why we let him go on a free.

tarkys_ears wrote:What's the matter? Did he hit the clause in his contract that states he doesn't earn anymore after X days injured?

We all know what he was after.

I'm as cynical as the next bloke, but I think Defour was after proving himself in the 'best league in the world'. He could have gone to (china? middle east? I forget who we hijacked him from) for the money but he rocked up at Burnley instead.

You know what happens on here after players leave... everyone remembers them as being waaaaay better than they ever were.

Except in this case, theyd be right. He was absolute class.

I just hope that those who never `got it` don't let the fact that he was injured a lot cloud the absolute fact that he was a superb player....the best technically gifted player I have ever seen play for us.

Good luck to Steven Defour, I think he may need it if he wants to play at a high level. Brilliant, but brittle.

Royal Antwerp have signed Benson as well!


https://royalantwerpfc.be/news/ontdek-onze-nieuwe-reds/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Buxtonclaret wrote:Royal Antwerp have signed Benson as well!


https://royalantwerpfc.be/news/ontdek-onze-nieuwe-reds/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

how big is that guy next to Defour !!!

kaptin1 wrote:how big is that guy next to Defour !!!

A giant.

kaptin1 wrote:how big is that guy next to Defour !!!

He's stood on a box

Steven is 5'8 and a half.... the giant must be 6'8 if he is an inch ffs he is at least 12 inches taller

kaptin1 wrote:how big is that guy next to Defour !!!

About two inches smaller than D4....der!

kaptin1 wrote:how big is that guy next to Defour !!!

Just over 6ft 6ins from all accounts

Oh. Yeah. Sorry. See what ya mean...

Bosscat wrote:He's stood on a box

Steven is 5'8 and a half.... the giant must be 6'8 if he is an inch ffs he is at least 12 inches taller

who's the guy with Steven Defour sitting on his shoulders and why is the rest of him hidden behind Defour's shirt?

"Hey, intern, can you photo-shop these 3 new footballers's photos in a pic for us....?"

I wonder who did the medical?

An absolute pleasure to have watched this man in our colours. Shame it's had to end. All the best to D4.

The jewel on our treatment table.

Lord Rothbury wrote:Did we pay his contract up.

No. We terminated it to allow him to sign for Royal Antwerp.

he was brilliant to watch at times, really highly talented player but he like Darren Anderton was blighted with injury problems.

I must be missing something here. If he is fit enough to sign for Antwerp, how come he couldn’t even get on our bench? Even twenty minutes from him as an impact sub would have helped last Saturday. I wish him well but will be a bit miffed if he now goes on and plays a lot of games for them.

Complete mystery. Only fit enough for light training fl but fit enough to pass a medical. Something doesn't add up. Maybe Antwerp took a punt and fudged the medical?

BurnleyFC wrote:The jewel on our treatment table.

Again I will ask you seen as though you ignored but have carried on with the arsehole comments aimed at him. How much have you put into the club while he was here to be fleeced of ?

Whitgord wrote:I must be missing something here. If he is fit enough to sign for Antwerp, how come he couldn’t even get on our bench? Even twenty minutes from him as an impact sub would have helped last Saturday. I wish him well but will be a bit miffed if he now goes on and plays a lot of games for them.

Was thinking the same thing myself. Why the hell are we letting him go if he's fit enough to play and we're crying out for his creativity in midfield. It's not as if his wages free up money to bring in a replacement.

claretonthecoast1882 wrote:Again I will ask you seen as though you ignored but have carried on with the arsehole comments aimed at him. How much have you put into the club while he was here to be fleeced of ?

Probably more than you.

Here's a piece from Match Of The Day

Steven Defour scores for Burnley against Manchester United at Old Trafford
A stunning free-kick against Manchester United at Old Trafford was one highlight of Defour's Burnley career

Belgium midfielder Steven Defour says leaving Burnley is the "best solution for everyone" after the club cancelled his contract to allow him to return home for personal reasons.

The 31-year-old has barely played for 18 months with a succession of injuries and was in the final year of his contract.

The former Porto and Anderlecht man joined Burnley for £7.5m in 2016.

"It's been a really hard last year and a half," Defour said.

He played a key role in helping the Clarets to qualify for the Europa League in 2017-18 but a knee injury saw him miss several months of football before a calf injury had stopped him making a single appearance in 2019.

"Steven has worked really hard throughout the summer to get back to full fitness and has made excellent progress," manager Sean Dyche said.

"We were looking forward to him playing some part for us later in the season, but for family reasons it is more appropriate for him to return to Belgium.

"We always put the welfare of a player first and hopefully by returning home he can resolve these issues and get the chance to resume his career nearer to his family home."

Defour added: "Unfortunately, I had some severe injuries I was trying to come back from and it didn't work out the way I wanted it to.

"There are lots of frustrations. But I think this is the best solution for everyone. On a personal note it's good for me to go back to Belgium."

A Burnley statement said the Belgium international - capped 52 times by his country - "will be remembered at Turf Moor as arguably their most successful overseas signing" and "one of the most technically gifted players of recent times".


"We always put the welfare of a player first" brilliant attitude from our manager.

All that's fair enough and it does kind of back up what I'd come to think quite some time ago. That the physical injuries were initially the problem, but over time the issues became more about his desire to stay and play in England and I suspect it became more about that quite a while back.

Whitgord wrote:I must be missing something here. If he is fit enough to sign for Antwerp, how come he couldn’t even get on our bench? Even twenty minutes from him as an impact sub would have helped last Saturday. I wish him well but will be a bit miffed if he now goes on and plays a lot of games for them.

Fair point, and I was thinking similar myself as I sat there on Saturday seeing possession turned over time and again - especially in the second half but - given his recent track record there's no way we would have taken that risk - a recurrence and both we and the player would have been back to square one - he could easily have been a non-player on our wage bill until at least the summer.

It's disappointing for all concerned but this seems like the best possible way out of a difficult situation.

It’s quite likely that the Belgian league is less demanding than the English Premier League. It’s also quite likely that Antwerp play a style of football that is less demanding than Burnley. Add that to his personal reasons for wanting to move back to Belgium, and the fact that we’ve signed a temporary replacement it’s easy to see why he hasn’t featured for us this season.

Why would we want to use an injury-prone player who is about to leave and risk having him on our treatment table and on our wage bill for the remainder of his contract?

There’s a difference in being fit enough to pass a medical for a club to sign somebody and being match fit.

How many times has a player been signed or been fit following injury, but not featured in the squad because not yet match-fit (or Dychefit in our case)

BurnleyFC wrote:Probably more than you.

Makes it even more baffling that we didn't sign a decent midfielder in the window. We must have known that Defour wasn't going to feature this season. I know we got Drinkwater on loan but that is a bit of a gamble and certainly not a replacement for Defour.

Firthy wrote:Makes it even more baffling that we didn't sign a decent midfielder in the window. We must have known that Defour wasn't going to feature this season. I know we got Drinkwater on loan but that is a bit of a gamble and certainly not a replacement for Defour.

In what way is Drinkwater not a replacement for Defour?

Firthy wrote:Makes it even more baffling that we didn't sign a decent midfielder in the window. We must have known that Defour wasn't going to feature this season. I know we got Drinkwater on loan but that is a bit of a gamble and certainly not a replacement for Defour.

I can't tell whether you're coming or going with that post.

We've signed a CM, who has a good range of passing etc.
We've let go a CM who also had a good range of passing, when fit.

Can't wait to see why one doesn't replace the other.

Croydon Claret wrote:Complete mystery. Only fit enough for light training fl but fit enough to pass a medical. Something doesn't add up. Maybe Antwerp took a punt and fudged the medical?

Passing a medical and being fit to play are two entirely different things.

In terms of being fit for us, he was still working with the physios and was, according to the manager, some way from being fit.

But in any case it is clear now that he wanted to return to Belgium.

Firthy wrote:Makes it even more baffling that we didn't sign a decent midfielder in the window. We must have known that Defour wasn't going to feature this season. I know we got Drinkwater on loan but that is a bit of a gamble and certainly not a replacement for Defour.

Very much a replacement for Defour

Steven is going to earn around €80,000 a week at Antwerp according to press sources.... around double his BFC wages.

http://sportwitness.co.uk/player-reveal ... e-january/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sportwitness have the following ....

"This allowed the 31-year-old to join Antwerp on a free transfer and on Monday, he completed a switch to the Jupiler Pro League side. Defour signed a one year deal with his new club and is reportedly set to earn €2m in wages."

It will be interesting to see if he plays and how much....

Croydon Claret wrote:Complete mystery. Only fit enough for light training fl but fit enough to pass a medical. Something doesn't add up. Maybe Antwerp took a punt and fudged the medical?

He isn't the first player to sign for a club whilst injured.

City signed Gundogan when he had dislocated knee cap didn't they?

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:I can't tell whether you're coming or going with that post.

We've signed a CM, who has a good range of passing etc.
We've let go a CM who also had a good range of passing, when fit.

Can't wait to see why one doesn't replace the other.

Because Drinkwater has hardly played over the last 2 seasons so is a bit of a gamble. I'm referring to a proven midfielder who has been playing regularly, that is what we should have signed if we new Defour wasa going. I would love Drinkwater to be back to his best like he was at Leicester but I'm yet to be convinced he's an adequate replacement if that is the case.

Equivalent of 40 games out of him over his 3 years, better than I thought. Decent player, but was never upto the rigours of the PL.

Firthy wrote:Because Drinkwater has hardly played over the last 2 seasons so is a bit of a gamble. I'm referring to a proven midfielder who has been playing regularly, that is what we should have signed if we new Defour wasa going. I would love Drinkwater to be back to his best like he was at Leicester but I'm yet to be convinced he's an adequate replacement if that is the case.

A proven midfielder who's been playing regularly, in the PL or another league?
If it had been one from the championship or lesser league it's guaranteed there would've been people on here unhappy with the signing, possibly including you.

As it is we've signed a proven midfielder, PL title winner and with European experience, who's just been unlucky with his last permanent transfer and the manager he's had.
He isn't the first player to fall foul of a new manager, won't be the last either especially at Chelsea.

If you're really not happy with someone like that replacing a player who's crocked more than he's fit then you've clearly got some issues because the clubs done right in the eyes of most people with this one.

Personally I'll be really happy for Steven if he sits at the back of Antwerps midfield prompting and pushing and doing enough to stay out of trouble for the next 4 years till he retires having played 150 games for them.

Some of you "oh look he's not really injured" types are just sad