Belgian footballer (born 1992)
Stef Peeters (born 9 February 1992) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Challenger Pro League club Patro Eisden. He formerly played for Genk, Sparta Rotterdam, MVV, Sint-Truiden, Cercle Brugge and Eupen.
Career
Genk
Born in Meeuwen-Gruitrode, Peeters is a Genk youth exponent,[2] joining them from childhood club Sporting Nevok Gruitrode as a seven-year-old.[3] He made his professional debut for Genk under head coach Mario Been on 19 November 2011, replacing Dániel Tőzsér in the 83rd minute of a 3–0 league win over Westerlo.[4] He signed his first contract three days later, on 22 November, keeping him at Genk until 2013.[5]
On 1 January 2013, Peeters was sent on a one-and-a-half-season loan to Sparta Rotterdam, after extending his contract with Genk until 2015.[6] He made his debut for Sparta as a starter on 3 February 2013 in a 1–0 victory against Cambuur in the Eerste Divisie.[7] Peeters scored his first professional goal exactly one year later, on 3 February 2014, opening the score in Sparta's 2–1 away win over Jong PSV.[8]
MVV
Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Peeters was sent on loan to Eerste Divisie club MVV alongside fellow Genk players Jordy Croux, Willem Ofori-Appiah and Alessio Alessandro as part of the two clubs' cooperation agreement.[9] He made his debut for the club on 8 August 2014 in a 5–0 loss away to Almere City in a game where MVV started seven Belgians.[10] On 25 August he scored his first goal for MVV on a penalty-kick in an away win over Jong Twente.[11]
Peeters signed a permanent deal with MVV on 23 June 2015, a one-year contract with an option for an additional season.[12]
Sint-Truiden
In summer 2016, Peeters joined Belgian Pro League side Sint-Truiden from MVV on a two-year deal.[2] During the 2016–17 season he amassed 13 assists and five goals in 39 matches.[2]
Caen
On 22 June 2017, French Ligue 1 Caen announced that they had reached an agreement for the transfer of Peeters on a three-year contract,[2] for a reported fee of €1.5 million.[13]
He made his debut for Caen on 5 August 2017, the opening matchday of the 2017–18 season, replacing Durel Avounou in the 70th minute of a 1–0 away loss to Montpellier.[14] He would mostly remain a substitute during the first half of the season, only making his first league start on 20 December, playing 71 minutes before being subbed off in a 3–1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain.[15] In the second half of the season he became a starter for the club, finishing with a total of 25 appearances for Caen, who managed to avoid relegation.[16]
Eupen
On 7 July 2020, Peeters moved to Eupen.[17] On 10 August, he made his debut for the club in a league game against Oud-Heverlee Leuven.[18] He scored his first goal for the Pandas on 21 November 2020, giving his team the lead in the 57th minute of an eventual 2–2 away draw against Standard Liège.[19]
Patro Eisden
On 1 September 2023, Challenger Pro League club, Patro Eisden, made a remarkably unexpected move by signing Peeters as a free agent.[20] He signed a four-year contract with the club, recently promoted from the third-tier Belgian National Division 1, and managed by former Belgian international Stijn Stijnen.[21] Peeters made his debut for the club in the Belgian Cup, starting in a 2–0 victory against Hoogstraten on 9 September.[22] One week later, he made his debut for Klein Anderlecht in the Challenger Pro League, contributing to a 3–1 away victory against the real Anderlecht's reserves, the RSCA Futures.[23] He provided an assist for Stefán Ingi Sigurðarson's goal in the 54th minute.[24]
References
External links