Too early for Flanno?

No defender has been dribbled past more than Jon Flanagan. Peter Fraser is waiting before overhyping.

As recently as the end of last November, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers revealed the only reason Jon Flanagan had not left Anfield was because just a solitary League One club had shown an interest in signing the out-of-favour defender on loan. Move forward four months and Rodgers said of Flanagan in the latter days of this March: "He has been a revelation, and particularly in the big games. It is great when you see a young player develop like that. You can see the confidence he has now. He has made himself an important member of the squad." Rodgers has been cooing over the 'mature' level of the 21-year-old's performances, comparing his style of play to Liverpool legend Steve Nicol, and confirming a new contract will be on offer in the summer. Flanagan has capitalised on the injuries suffered by squad-mates Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique over the course of this season to produce wholehearted displays at both right-back and, now, left-back. He has transformed himself from a player deemed not good enough by Rodgers to having played 17 Premier League games in 2013/14 after only making his first top-flight appearance since April 2012 at the beginning of November. Such has been Flanagan's reversal in fortunes, he has started the last 10 successive league matches amid Liverpool's eight-game winning run. The effectiveness of Flanagan's performances means the right-footer is even ahead of the experienced Aly Cissokho at left-back in Rodgers' first-choice, table-topping team. And, in yet a further indication of his rise to prominence, there was dismay around Merseyside at his omission from England's Under 21 and senior squads in March's internationals. Liverpool's fans have especially taken Flanagan to heart, given his Scouse heritage from Anfield's Utting Avenue and his tenacious hard work. The Kop had already created, albeit initially ironically, the nickname of 'RedCafu' after legendary former Brazil right-back Cafu and even the South American himself joined in with the moniker last Sunday when taking to Twitter during Liverpool's 4-0 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur.

Good to see the RedCafu is playing well! Liverpool amazing to watch!

- Cafu. (@officialcafu) March 30, 2014

Flanagan's committed approach has earned respect. Crunching tackles from a homegrown youngster have become a trademark - he averages 3.6 per game, which is joint with Lucas Leiva as more than any other Liverpool player and ranks as the fourth highest total in the Premier League overall this season. That is just the sort of thing to bring Anfield and pundits to their feet - just ask Spurs' Aaron Lennon or Roberto Soldado. But Flanagan should also not only be viewed as some sort of boy-next-door enforcer. As Rodgers rightly said, the youngster has refused to be overawed by any opponent or any magnitude of game - against Arsenal or Manchester United, for example. A man-of-the-match performance in January's Merseyside derby thrashing of Everton even saw Steven Gerrard comparing Flanagan to the Liverpool captain's good friend, former team-mate and Kop idol - Jamie Carragher. It is, though, important not to get carried away. Flanagan is young and, as an inevitable