Brazilian star raves about Liverpool duo Gerrard and Torres while Barca and Juve wait on Mascherano

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Lucas has been drafted into Liverpool's midfield in recent games late alongside skipper Steven Gerrard, and with record signing Fernando Torres in front of him.

The 20 year-old, who signed in the summer for £5million from Gremio, is rated in South America as the best Brazilian of his age group and he has adapted to the English game remarkably quickly.

And having Gerrard and Torres around to help him has been a key factor, he claims.

Lucas said: "It is fantastic playing alongside Steven Gerrard, he is among the best in the world. And to have Fernando up front - he too is one of the best in the game - as well is a dream for me."

Lucas has impressed in Liverpool's last two Barclays Premier League games against Newcastle and Bolton.

He said: "Stevie and I are obviously different players. I am younger and I am still learning and he is helping me a lot.

"When I play in midfield with him I have to play more of a holding role because he can go forward, create chances and score goals himself. Hopefully, when I have played more games and got more confidence I can go forward more myself.

"But I am happy just to be playing because I can learn from players like Steven.

"It is fantastic to play alongside him because he is one of the best players in the world.

"Hopefully, one day, I will be as good as he is but that is a long way away."

And Lucas is revelling in the fact that Torres, with 11 goals in 17 games, is proving already to be a success at Anfield.

Lucas added: "Fernando is a fantastic player and he can score a lot of goals. He is a very good striker and he can be the best striker in the world."

Lucas has proved to be a more than adequate understudy for Javier Mascherano, and has recently been given the chance to shine.

Liverpool are still trying desperately to tie down the Argentinian on a permanent contract, but if that proves to be too difficult Lucas could comfortably step into the role.

With that deal on hold until the club's American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, have their much heralded meeting with boss Rafael Benitez later this month, there are concerns that Mascherano could slip through the net.

Both Barcelona and Juventus are monitoring the situation, and Liverpool know they must come up with £17million to make the loan deal permanent.

Whether the Americans will sanction that deal remains to be seen, and has been one of the main fears for Benitez as he has expressed his concerns about the club's transfer policy.

Lucas could end up as the beneficiary of any delays in that move, or even the loss of the player altogether.

For now he is just happy to be making his mark at his new club.

He said: "We are scoring a lot of goals at the moment and we have to keep that going.

"It is hard to say why it is happening at this time but the team is playing really well and we are creating plenty of chances.

"We have played really well in the last five or six games and the confidence is much better because we are scoring goals and winning but now we have to look forward to the next game."

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