Manchester United will continue to monitor Standard Liege midfielder Steven Defour with a move in the January transfer window a possibility.

Sir Alex Ferguson rates the Belgian midfielder highly and is keen on keeping tabs on him this season.

Ferguson, who sent Defour a 'get well soon' letter when the Liege midfielder broke his foot last season, has long term doubts over the future of Owen Hargreaves.

Defour, 22, is seen a potential replacement for the permanently crocked Hargreaves with his stamina and tough-tackling style assets Ferguson admires.

The United manager opted against making a move for Defour this summer having already spent over £20m on Chris Smalling, Javier Hernandez and Bebe but talkSPORT understand he will continue to monitor Defour.

talkSPORT exclusively revealed last month that United were interested in Defour but he wanted to remain in Belgium for the time being.

But a source close to the player said: "United were interested in Defour but there was no official bid. He wouldn't have moved this summer any way.

"Beyond that, we will look in January and assess it then. United remain keen on him, for sure."