Liverpool prospect Paulo Alves is grateful for the influence of Pep Lijnders.

Before arriving at the Kirkby Academy in the summer of 2015, the Portugal midfielder spent seven years in FC Porto's youth setup, working alongside the enthusiastic Lijnders.

Alves told LFCTV: "I played for seven years at Porto's academy and Pep was the person and the coach that helped me the most in my career.

"He coached me for three years at Porto and he taught me a lot of things and gave me good advice.

"He is also a very good person and a very good coach and is somebody who has always been there for me.

"I will work even harder to make the bench again and try to make my debut one day for Liverpool. That is my dream."