Jay Spearing has held talks with Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez about his future first team role.
The young midfielder says Benitez wants him to model his game on Javier Mascherano.
He told liverpoolfc.tv: "It's more tactical understanding than anything else. Rafa wants me to become a defensive midfielder and to understand the role and the positional side of things.
"It's the heart of the team here because you've got to get forward if you can while protecting the back four. It's a key area that we look at a lot."
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