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Alonso hails the impact of Fabinho at Liverpool

Xabi Alonso has hailed the impact of Brazilian midfielder Fabinho at Liverpool, saying he makes the rest of the players around him better.

Fabinho arrived at Anfield in a £40m deal from Monaco last summer and has shone in his debut season in English football, helping Jurgen Klopp’s side to Champions League success.

Former Liverpool midfielder Alonso has hailed the contribution of the 25-year-old, praising the simplicity in Fabinho’s play whilst also admitting he see’s ‘similarities’ to his own playing style.

“I think that we could have similarities in terms of the position, in terms of how we want to connect with the players around, how he makes the players around him better players, making them play easier and play better,” Alonso told Liverpoolfc.com.

“Taking many small, correct decisions is part of being a midfielder and he does it very well.”

Having joined Real Madrid on-loan as a teenager in 2012, Fabinho and Alonso were once briefly teammates in the Spanish capital.

The Spaniard admits he saw potential in the young midfielder, revealing he believes Fabinho’s ‘understanding of the game’ allows him to be successful in a variety in roles.

“He came to [Real] Madrid and you could see that technically he was very good, physically he was very good, but he was playing right-back,” Alonso added.

“I think that he can play everywhere because of his understanding of the game and he is able to read what’s going to happen and how he wants to do it, but I think the step he made in Monaco was beautiful.

“Playing that midfield role, he’s able to connect to the close ones, to the farther ones and I really like the way he plays: his understanding of the game, he’s involved in the game, taking the small decisions but ticking in all of the moments and I think that’s the job of a midfielder.”

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