Rafa Benitez has backed Javier
Mascherano to make a huge impact for Liverpool.
The Argentine has endured a turbulent time since moving to England
last summer, as his transfer to West Ham turned sour and led to an
offer from Liverpool.
It was only after Fifa intervened that Liverpool were allowed to
sign Mascherano and the midfielder has since made a solid start to
his Anfield career.
Benitez feels Mascherano can only improve and is tipping him to
push Xabi Alonso hard for the holding-midfield role.
"If you analyse his two performances so far he has played very
well," Benitez said on Liverpool's official website. "He is good at
both keeping possession, tackling and fighting to get the ball
back. We're sure he's going to be a really good player for
us.
"He is someone who not only passes well, but he always arrives to
support team-mates and give a good option to their passing.
"We don't have a lot of these type of player. Only Xabi can play in
this holding role. Momo and Gerrard like to go forward a lot more,
so it's important for the balance to have someone like
Mascherano."