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Defour up for more at Standard

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

R. Standard de Liège have received a boost in the build-up to their UEFA Europa League quarter-final against Hamburger SV after captain Steven Defour extended his contract.

Standard captain Steven Defour
Standard captain Steven Defour ©Getty Images

R. Standard de Liège captain Steven Defour has "made a statement" by extending his contract by two years until July 2015.

Defour joined Les Rouches in 2006 from KRC Genk and went on to establish himself as one of the brightest young midfield prospects in Europe by skippering Standard to successive Belgian championships in 2008 and 2009. In 2008 he was named Belgium's player of the year aged just 19. A club statement said: "With this decision our captain has clearly made a statement that he does not want to leave us yet."

The 21-year-old has been spent much of this season on the sidelines, initially with a broken foot and currently with a buttock muscle injury which will keep him out of the first leg of the UEFA Europa League quarter-final against Hamburger SV on Thursday. Defour, capped 23 times, hopes to feature in the decider in Liege the following week.

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