Inter Milan have signed Standard Liege defender Zinho Vanheusden.

The 16 year-old's father confirmed yesterday that his son would be joining Inter.

"We want to thank Standard for all it has done, but we believe it is time to take a step forward. There was a real interest from other clubs, but we just had a good feeling with Inter.

"They followed Zinho for over a year and it took just a few calls with the chief scout Pierluigi Casiraghi, with manager Roberto Samaden and with youth coach Gian Paolo Manighetti.

"We believe this is the right step for Zinho. The sporting level that was designed for him by the club fits perfectly with what we needed."