Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is delighted for Joao Carlos Teixeira over his first team debut in victory at Fulham this week.
Gerrard has revealed that it was obvious the young Portuguese midfielder was hugely talented the first time he set eyes on him.
"I watched this kid a couple of years ago playing for Sporting Lisbon against Liverpool at Anfield in a youth game; I could see straight away he was the best player on the pitch," Gerrard told Liverpool's official website.
Teixeira has been beset by a serious back injury and saw a loan spell at Brentford earlier this season cut short, but has worked his way into the first-team squad recently.
"Credit to him, he has kept working hard. He has been invited to train with the first team. He is competing, he is trying to improve and learn."
