'Raul Can Be New Terry Mac'

Alan Hansen believes new signing Raul Meireles can provide Liverpool's midfield with the sort of dynamism that made Terry McDermott a Kop legend in the 1970s.

The Reds completed the signing of the Portugal international from FC Porto last month and, having been impressed with the 27-year-old's performances at the World Cup, Hansen feels the deal represents a coup for Roy Hodgson.

And the Scot is convinced Meireles has all the attributes to be as influential on the team as the legendary free-scoring McDermott.

"They can't be compared directly, but the closest thing we had to Meireles when I was at Liverpool would have been Terry McDermott," Hansen told LFC Weekly.

"Terry Mac was probably better technically, but he was the same type of energetic box-to-box midfielder who would start the build-up on the edge of our box and 10 seconds later would be at the other end of the pitch putting the ball in the net.

"I'd be stood there thinking 'Christ, where has he come from?'

"That's the sort of thing we've been looking for - someone who can go from being in a defensive position to ghosting into the other penalty area as a move builds up - and I believe Meireles can do that job."

Meireles played in all four of Portugal's matches at the World Cup and was on target during their resounding 7-0 group-stage victory over North Korea.

Hansen continued: "I spent the summer in South Africa at the World Cup and Meireles had a very good tournament for Portugal.

"If you were looking for a midfielder who was good at getting from box to box on a regular basis then I would say Meireles was as good as anybody in the competition.

"He is noted for his work-rate, but it was his work-rate plus a degree of quality that shone out. Every time I saw him he was very impressive, so from that perspective it looks like Roy Hodgson has made a really good signing for Liverpool Football Club.

"As is always the case with every new signing, you can never tell how a player is going to perform until he is bedded into the team, but from what I have seen he has the attributes to do well at Liverpool."

Meireles's arrival significantly bolsters Hodgson's midfield options - and Hansen is excited about what Anfield's new No.4 can bring to the team.

He added: "Meireles will add energy to the midfield. He'll shake things up in terms of movement in the centre of the park and get from box to box in a way that no other Liverpool midfielder has done in recent times with the exception of Steven Gerrard.

"He is a dynamic player. One minute he's in defence, the next he's in the opposition's box and maybe that's what we've been lacking a bit of in the last four or five years.

"Whether he will play alongside Steven with Joe Cole ahead of them, or alongside Christian Poulsen or Lucas with Steven further forward is difficult to say at present, but Roy will have all those options open to him.

"It's up to him to decide how he deploys Meireles and the most important aspect he will consider is how he gets the best out of the player."