Steven Defour has committed his immediate future to Standard Liege.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was so impressed with Defour's midfield dynamism for Standard and Belgium that he sent him a get-well message, following an injury nearly two years ago.
As scouts flocked to Standard games in ever greater numbers, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton and Aston Villa also expressing a keen interest, his agent Paul Stefani declared: "He is being watched by top clubs in England, France, Spain and Italy, and we may have a decision to make before long." But Standard made it clear they were reluctant to lose another top player, after selling Marouane Fellaini to Everton for £15million, and gave him another option to consider by opening talks on extending his contract, says the Daily Mail.
Defour finally caved in to pressure from his Standard bosses and confirmed earlier on Thursday that he had signed a new deal until 2016.
