Liverpool transfer target Jerry St Juste has given an insight into what he would bring to the Reds if he moves to Anfield.
St Juste has impressed for Sporting Lisbon since joining the Portuguese giants in last summer's transfer window. While it has been a disappointing campaign for the Leões, the centre-back has featured heavily, making 31 appearances in all competitions.
His performances have attracted the eye of Liverpool, who are set to embark on a major squad rebuild. Defence is one area that needs to be improve, with the Reds looking worryingly open at the back this campaign.
The Reds have already sent scouts to watch the 26-year-old in Sporting's Europa League clash against Arsenal. And St Juste has now given a hint as to why Liverpool are ramping up their interest in him.
"My focus, aggressiveness, my reading of the game, being a leader, being technically skilled. I like to go out and play even playing as a centre-half, it's all part of my game," he told UEFA, via O Jogo.
"My speed? I inherited it from my mother, she was an athlete and was always very fast. However, I also trained a lot for that, mainly my strength to maintain that speed."
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"You definitely have to be able to read the game, know where the danger comes from, the positioning. If you're in the right position sometimes you don't need to be fast. You can channel that energy into other things."
St Juste was instrumental in Sporting's win over Arsenal in the Europa League. He played all 210 minutes of the two legs combined. He made a crucial block on Gabriel Martinelli to prevent the Arsenal star from scoring and opened up on that game-changing intervention.
"It was a very important intervention in the game, I was very happy about it. We were close to Arsenal's area, we lost the ball and Martinelli took the ball and won the shot, still We had three defenders waiting for him but he has great skill," he added.
"I knew it was possible to stop him. You can see me looking, realizing that I had to speed up to catch him if he charged. So Morita who tried to cut the ball and he manages to kick the ball away and then I realized that I would have to intervene.
"Recognizing these situations is also part of my skills, knowing that I can handle a situation like that. So I had to run, but it turned out to be a good one result. I think my colleagues thought it was an important cut.
"It was also important for the game and for the fans. It was important to show that the job was not done, even if the opponent is alone against our goalkeeper is possible to do something to avoid the goal."
