Glen Johnson has tipped Liverpool transfer targets Alexis Mac Allister and Mason Mount to succeed should they complete moves to Anfield.
The Reds have earmarked the Argentina and England internationals as possible additions in the summer as Jurgen Klopp looks to strengthen his midfield ranks. At the end of this season, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner and Naby Keita will all depart after their contracts expire.
However, competition has emerged for the Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea men. Manchester City are said to be monitoring MacAllister while Manchester United have said to have lodged a £55m bid for Mount who, according to a report last night, favours a switch to Old Trafford should he leave Stamford Bridge.
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But Johnson, who made 200 appearances for Liverpool between 2009 and 2015, believes the highly rated duo would be wise to make the move to Merseyside. The ex-England international told Lord Ping: "I can see him (Mac Allister) coming in and playing a bit like Diogo Jota in the sense he is really clued up about the league, understands about the pace and physicality and hopefully that will make it really easy for him to get to grips with the way Liverpool play.
"He has an amazing ability to know where everyone is on the pitch. I’m not ashamed to say I didn’t know too much about him 18 months ago, but he has since put in some unbelievable performances for Argentina, won the World Cup and I think he is now just a way above the standard of his Brighton teammates.
"When he plays alongside players like he will at Liverpool, he will really perform. I’m a really big fan of his, even though he may not be the sexiest of names Liverpool have been linked with.
"However, just like Jota, they will know exactly what they are getting from him. He will enjoy playing at Anfield, he will improve the team and they can take him to another level.
On Mount, Johnson, who also used to play for Chelsea, said: "He has struggled with injuries at times this season, but I don’t know how good he feels in himself. If Mason feels good, he is going to perform. If I am the incoming Chelsea manager, I would prefer to work with him and keep him than try to move him on.
"No-one would be surprised if he left to join a Premier League rival and started fantastically. I could see him getting into that Liverpool side and scoring more than 10 goals a season, easily.
"Anything Chelsea have done well for the best three or four years has come through Mount and he has been involved with."
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