Coutinho: Has quickly made his mark for Liverpool

The 20-year-old Brazil international has made a big impact on Merseyside since joining from Inter Milan in an £8.5m deal.

Coutinho is yet to complete a full match for Liverpool, but he has already scored once and had two assists in 202 minutes of football.

Gerrard has been impressed with the midfielder and feels he will get even better when he is fully fit.

"He's got moments of magical brilliance," Gerrard said.

"I think you'll see the best of him next season when he gets a full pre-season under his belt and gets used to the speed of the game.

"What he has shown for 55 or 60 minutes is that he's a top player and he belongs in a Liverpool shirt.

"If we can get that for 90 minutes from him next season then he's going to be a great asset for us."

Team-mate Jose Enrique is also confident that Coutinho will emerge as a key player for Liverpool.

"The numbers speak for themselves: in four games he has two assists and one goal so I hope he will continue like this scoring goals and making assists," said the left-back.

"He is the type of a player, as a big team, you have to have.

"He can create from nothing in a one versus one. He is playing really well right now and he is the type of player we need.

"Defenders are important but you need people who can score goals and we have now."