Lucas tips Aquilani to shine

Aquilani: Set to be unleashed

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Lucas Leiva is confident Alberto Aquilani will be a hit at Liverpool once he settles into life at Anfield.

The Italian has endured a frustrating opening to his Reds career, with a long-standing injury carried over from his time at Roma hindering his early opportunities to make an impression.

However, with Rafa Benitez having spent big over the summer in order to acquire his services, the Liverpool faithful are expecting great things from the £17million man.

He has been charged with filling the void created by Xabi Alonso's sale to Real Madrid, but has been limited to just 21 minutes of action so far.

Aquilani will, however, be awarded his first start against Fiorentina in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday and his fellow midfielder Lucas is backing him to prove his worth and silence the doubters.

Exciting

"It is exciting that Alberto is going to get his first chance and we are all looking forward to it - we will give him all the support and respect he needs," Lucas declared in the Liverpool Echo.

"Hopefully he will do a really good job for us. When you have been out for a long time injured, it takes a while for you to get your rhythm back.

"But it is easy to see in training that he has got quality on the ball and we hope he is going to help us.

"People will make comparisons but he is a different player to Xabi; he is more attacking and we can all see that he is going to play in a more advanced role.

"Obviously he came to replace Xabi but he is going to need some time to settle and we will do everything to make that happen quickly."