Former Liverpool Echo journalist Dominic King has been singing the praises of Reds defender Tiago Ilori, who he thinks has capabilities similar to France and Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane.
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King, who was speaking to the Echo ahead of this summer’s European U21 Championship, will have surprised plenty of Reds fans with his praise for the Portuguese, who is yet to make a senior appearance for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
The 22-year-old, who moved to Anfield from Sporting Lisbon in 2013, has spent the last two seasons on loan at Granada and Bordeaux. And despite making just a handful of appearances – 21 in league fixtures – King is confident that the youngster will come good on Merseyside.
“He will look at the opening game as a chance to send a message back to Anfield that he has what it takes to succeed,” he said. “Judges in Portugal believe he has capabilities similar to France and Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane.”
We’d certainly love that to be the case. With Martin Skrtel coming towards the end of his contract (via Sky Sports), Kolo Toure likely coming towards the end of his career, and question marks over the performances of Mamadou Sakho and Dejan Lovren, we’re in desperate need of a world class defender to emerge from nowhere for us.
Could Ilori be that man? Let us know your thoughts, Reds!