Steven Gerrard believes Lucas can hold his own in the competition for places in Liverpool's midfield
Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard believes that Lucas can hold his own in the competition for places in the midfield area.
In that section of the team the Reds already have Gerrard himself plus Joe Cole and Raul Meireles, while the arrivals of Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam, coupled with the return of Alberto Aquilani, will all add to the competition to get into and remain in the first-team.
For his part, Brazilian Lucas struggled to make a name at the club early on, but improved significantly during the past two seasons to win over the supporters and be voted as one of the best players through the course of the last campaign.
"He has a strong, positive mentality," Gerrard told reporters.
"I've seen all the difficulties he's been through. He has basically rolled his sleeves up, worked hard and improved.
"He has got stronger in the gym and has never let his head go down.
"He's been prepared to fight to prove a lot of people wrong and was consistently one of our best players last season."