Dale Christopher Stephens (born 12 June 1989) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.
Stephens was born in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
Stephens joined Oldham Athletic on 1 July 2008 after rejecting a new deal at Bury. On 9 March 2010, he scored his first goal for Oldham in a 2âÂÂ0 win over Leyton Orient.
On 14 August 2009, Stephens joined Rochdale on a month's loan. He made his debut in a 3âÂÂ3 draw with Morecambe on 4 September 2009, where he scored the equaliser. It was later extended by another month. On 12 October he extended the loan spell for a third time.
On 24 March 2011, Stephens signed on loan for Southampton until the end of the season. He made his debut as a substitute in a 3âÂÂ2 victory over MK Dons. He started days later against Charlton Athletic but had to be stretchered off at the end of the first half.
On 29 June 2011, Stephens signed a three-year contract for Charlton Athletic for an undisclosed fee, estimated to be around ã350,000.
On 30 January 2014, Stephens signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Brighton & Hove Albion for an undisclosed fee. Stephens scored his first goal of the 2015âÂÂ16 season with a strike against Rotherham United, in a 2âÂÂ1 win. He followed this up with goals against Bolton Wanderers (2âÂÂ2 draw), Cardiff (1âÂÂ1 draw), QPR (2âÂÂ2 draw), Cardiff (4âÂÂ1 loss), and Burnley (2âÂÂ2 draw). He formed a vital partnership with Beram Kayal, and would play an integral part in the side that would go 21 league matches unbeaten.
On 7 May 2016, in an away tie against Middlesbrough with winner takes all to win automatic promotion to the Premier League, Stephens scored a 55th minute equaliser to give Brighton a lifeline as Brighton needed a win to go up. Four minutes after his headed goal, Stephens was sent off for a tackle on Gastón RamÃÂrez. The game finished 1âÂÂ1, meaning Boro won promotion to the top flight and Stephens' suspension meant he would miss the play-offs in which The Seagulls would lose the two legged semi final to Sheffield Wednesday.
Stephens was a key performer for Brighton throughout the 2016âÂÂ17 season, helping the club to earn promotion to the Premier League. He signed a new four-year contract with the club in the summer of 2017, with his previous contract set to run out at the conclusion of the season.
Brighton's first match in the top flight for 34 years was at home to eventual champions Manchester City. Stephens played the whole match in the 2âÂÂ0 defeat on his Premier League debut. He played in Brighton's first ever win in the Premier League in a 3âÂÂ1 home win over West Brom on 9 September 2017. Stephens scored his first goal of the 2017âÂÂ18 season on 8 January opening the scoreline in a 2âÂÂ1 home win against bitter rivals Crystal Palace in the third round of the FA Cup. On 4 May 2018 Stephens played in the match that ensured Brighton Premier League safety with a 1âÂÂ0 win over Manchester United at Falmer Stadium.
On 10 November 2018 Stephens received his first Premier League red card away against Cardiff. He was sent off at 1âÂÂ1, it eventually finished 2âÂÂ1 to The Bluebirds. Stephens scored his first ever Premier League goal away against West Ham opening the scoreline in the 2âÂÂ2 draw on 2 January 2019. He made 5 FA Cup appearances in the 2018âÂÂ19 season where The Seagulls made the semi-final.
Stephens played in Brighton's first home win of the 2019âÂÂ20 season which came on the 5 October where Brighton put three past Tottenham and keeping a clean sheet.
On 24 September 2020, Burnley announced the signing of Stephens on a two-year deal. Two days after the announcement of his signing he made his debut in what also happened to be his 100th Premier league appearance, starting and playing the whole match in the 1âÂÂ0 home defeat against his former club Southampton.
He made his first appearance of the 2021âÂÂ22 season on 30 December, coming on as a substitute in the 3âÂÂ1 away loss at Manchester United. Stephens made his first start of the season on 8 January 2022, starting and playing 82 minutes of the eventual 2âÂÂ1 FA Cup third round home loss against Huddersfield of the Championship. He made his first Premier League start in over a year on 5 February, playing the whole match of the frustrating 0âÂÂ0 home draw against Watford. On 10 June, Burnley announced that Stephens would leave the club at the end of the month when his contract expired.
On 28 March 2023, Stephens announced his retirement from football.
Charlton Athletic
Brighton & Hove Albion