I'd make a bid for this lad aswell..
Now Roy Hodgson has confirmed Javier Mascherano wants to leave Liverpool, the focus turns to his replacement at Anfield.
Several reports over the last couple of weeks have linked Standard Liege's Steven Defour, 22, with the Reds. Hodgson is said to have a keen interest in the young Belgian ace and it is easy to see why - Defour seems like a perfect replacement for Mascherano. A pacy and versatile midfielder with great vision and passing rate, he would fit straight into the gap.
Defour has attracted big club interest before. Ajax, looking for a replacement for Wesley Sneijder, had a bid turned down in the 2007-08 season. After the 2009-10 season, bigger clubs showed an interest. All of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United were reported to have had a look at the Standard captain, but nothing materialised. Still, when Defour was injured in a Europa League game against Panathinaikos in January, Sir Alex Ferguson was rumoured to have sent him a personal letter of encouragement.
However, all the talk now is about Defour going to Liverpool, especially with Manchester United seemingly having taken a fancy for German Wunderkind Mesut Ozil. And if it happens, it may prove to be a great move for all concerned. Defour cannot go much further in Belgium, having won two league titles with Standard (2008 and 2009) and the country's highest individual honour, the Golden Boot, in 2008. He has captained Standard since he was only 19 and at 22 seems destined to burst out of Belgium and onto the big scene. Liverpool would be a massive new challenge. Liverpool are still one of the biggest clubs in the history of the game and a dream move for any young player. And Defour can only expect to learn and get better, playing in one of the biggest leagues in Europe, with the likes of Steven Gerrard and most likely Fernando Torres and under a manager who is known for getting the best out of his players.
For Liverpool, Defour could be the man to help them achieve their turnaround and break back into Europe's elite. He has proved at Standard that he can compete at the highest level, with more than decent performances against top opposition in the Champions and Europa Leagues. (It was in one of those ties, in which Liverpool only beat Standard after penalties, that Defour first attracted attention .) The captain of a championship-winning side since the age of 19, he has also shown an ability to cope with pressure that belies his 22 years.
Any position in midfield can bring out the best in him: holding, attacking, centre or either flank. His vision and passing rate would be a boost for the Reds and, as an added bonus, he has played for some time with Liverpool's new striker, Milan Jovanovic, and has built a great playing partnership with him. The fact that he is "only" Belgian and "only" plays in Belgium makes for a relatively low transfer fee. £15 million is currently rumoured. The same calibre player would easily command double that if he were Italian, Spanish or English. Defour will presumably also be less demanding than Mascherano in terms of wages, given the financial chasm between the Belgian Pro-League and the Premier League. Defour would be a steal.
For Standard, then, the benefits would be largely financial. Having had to let Jovanovic go on a free, they will regret the transfer money they could have received for a player who scored at this summer’s World Cup. With their other main striker, Dieu-Merci Mbokani, also keen on a move out of the country and Belgium left-back Sebastien Pocognoli attracting interest from Spanish giants Sevilla, Standard could put any extra money from a Defour transfer to good use rebuilding their ravaged squad. A fee of £15 million is an enormous amount of money to Standard, which will enable them to outbid nearly any Belgian club in their quest for new players.
