Harvey Elliott has opened up on the influence Mohamed Salah has had on his fledgling career as the youngster revealed a desire to take on extra responsibility at Liverpool.
Elliott has started seven of the Reds' 10 games this term across all competitions and saw his performances rewarded with the club's in-house Player of the Month award for both August and September combined last week.
The teenager emerged from the substitutes' bench in Tuesday's 2-0 win over Rangers and believes he is maturing every week as an important player in Jurgen Klopp's squad.
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Elliott explained that he takes on advice from some of the more senior members of the squad, including Salah, but believes he is growing in stature within the ranks over three years after signing from Fulham as a 16-year-old.
"Mo is unbelievable," Elliott said. "I mean, I don't have to say too much about Mo, he's shown why he's one of the best players in the world today and has done for many games. He's always there to help me out and, on the right side, it's always nice to have someone to pass the ball to or get the ball from.
"It's unbelievable to have these players around and I'm just trying to lean off them every single day and do what I can to hopefully one day make sure I'm up with them.
"[The senior players] put their arm around me and give me a helping hand if needed but at the same time I need to solve my own problems and I need to deal with it myself like a man. It's a man's game and I am not a kid anymore, so I need to have that authority and make sure I stamp things out.
"If there are things I need to improve on then I need to improve on them and for me it's just about making sure I do what I can do to get in the team and cement my spot. I just need to make sure I am ready and when I am called upon I go out and give it my all and make sure I have 100% focus and confidence when I go out on the pitch when I am playing or starting.
"Everyone will get their opportunity, as you've seen so far this season, whether that's through an unfortunate injury or different formations, so everyone needs to be ready, fully confident, motivated and ready to go out and play because at the end of the day, we're going to need everyone."
After starting his career on Merseyside largely as a right-side winger, Elliott has been learning his trade as a central midfielder over the last 12 months or so. The 19-year-old says he is an attack-minded player by nature but has been in talks with Klopp and his staff about developing his all-round game in the centre of the park.
He added: "I mean there's still a lot of improvements to make and there's going to be a lot of improvements to make throughout the season, it's not going to click overnight. We just need to keep working on things, analysing things that didn't go well and especially for myself.
"But for me personally things have gone well so far. I have played a lot of minutes which I am thankful for but maybe we haven't come away with results in some games, but hopefully we can build on tonight. I feel fully confident and motivated.
"I think defending is one [area to improve]. Obviously myself, as an attacking player, I have had to make the switch to central midfield and there are different changes I've had to make to my game. I take on a lot more responsibility in terms of defending as well as attacking so I need to do as well as I can.
"So, for me, defending is a big thing I have to improve on and I have been working on it so far this season. It's going to take a while to get used to it and master it but I've had chats with the gaffer and the coaching team on how I can do that.
"I am very happy for the [other midfielders] to come on and showcase their talent, which they have done in so many games. Not just this season but many seasons in the past as well. They all deserve a place, it's just a shame there's only 11 on the pitch. When I am called upon and needed I am just ready. There's some wonderful players in this team."
After Tuesday's win over Rangers in Group A of the Champions League, next up for the Reds is a trip to table-topping Arsenal as they aim to close the gap on the Premier League leaders to eight points at the Emirates.
Elliott says: "You can see the way Arsenal have started the season, it's going to be a very tough game like every game. So we need to brush this win (against Rangers) aside and make sure we keep the confidence and the positives and take it into the weekend. It's never an easy game and even more so with the form they are in, so we just need to make sure we're ready to stamp our foot down on this league and come away with a win."
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