Michael Keane loses on return to Burnley but confidence has returned for him

By his own admission, life hasn’t been easy for Michael Keane since Burnley banked a club record £25million transfer fee from Everton for him in the summer of 2017.

At the time, the graduate of Manchester United’s academy had wondered about a return to Old Trafford, buoyed by interest from his old club and Jose Mourinho.

It was only when United signed Victor Lindelof from Benfica that Keane decided on Everton because it offered him a greater assurance of regular first-team football.

The 6ft 3in centre-back had only been at Goodison Park for a few months when manager Ronald Koeman paid the price for a poor start to the season.

Caretaker David Unsworth stepped in, then firefighter Sam Allardyce for four-and-a-half months before Marco Silva took over for the start of last season.

The Portuguese coach found a player struggling for form and confidence.

Keane was questioning the wisdom of his move to Merseyside and fans were questioning him.

He later admitted to having difficulties leaving the house as chronic self-doubt took hold.

It didn’t help that in Silva’s third game in charge Keane suffered a hairline fracture of the skull in a clash of heads with teammate Idrissa Gana Gueye.

He missed another month of the season and worried about heading a football on his return to action, which is hardly ideal for a central defender.

Silva had to build Keane’s confidence back up again in a series of one-on-one meetings, gradually rediscovering the player who had blossomed so much at Burnley.

‘If you do not have confidence in your job, not just in football, and you do not have confidence in what you are doing it is normal you do not perform well and show your quality,’ said Silva a year ago.

‘It is easy for me to understand, and maybe for all watching how Michael is different now.

The decisions he takes on the pitch, his confidence in challenges. The Michael who started in pre-season is different, the confidence has come.’

Keane’s rehabilitation has continued since then. There is still room for improvements and it has not been easy in an Everton team that continues to under-perform.

Defeat on his return to Turf Moor was the club’s fourth in a row in the Premier League, putting Silva under more pressure going into the international break.

Keane will spend it with the England squad for the games against Czech Republic and Bulgaria having regained his place under Gareth Southgate.

The 26-year-old played 90 minutes alongside Harry Maguire against Kosovo and Bulgaria last month, and was a natural inclusion when Southgate named his squad earlier this week.

There was enough evidence to explain why at Turf Moor even though he ended up on the losing side again after Everton were forced to play with 10 men after Seamus Coleman was sent off shortly after half-time.

Keane just about shaded the physical battle with his old teammate Ashley Barnes who was replaced by Jay Rodriguez moments after Jeff Hendrick scored the winner.

Keane could do little about the goal, throwing himself towards the near post in vain as Hendrick arrived to volley home from a tight angle.

A crunching tackle on substitute Charlie Taylor towards the end prevented the damage from being any worse for an Everton team who offered painfully little going forward.

Their problems show no sign of abating anytime soon, and that has been the case for so much of Keane’s career at Goodison. It makes you wonder how he would have benefitted from a more stable working environment.

Clearly more challenges lie ahead, but at least if feels as though the really dark days are behind him.