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Rodgers to hand Suso contract reward

Suso could be set for a new deal © Getty Images

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Liverpool are set to offer Suso a new contract as reward for his breakthough into the first team.

Suso, who arrived at Anfield from Cadiz in the summer of 2010, is in talks to extend a deal that expires next summer.

The 18-year-old, a member of the Spain squad who won the Under-19 European Championships in Estonia in July, made his Liverpool debut against Young Boys in the Europa League earlier this month.

He then made his Premier League bow as a substitute in the defeat against Manchester United at Anfield last Sunday, before setting up Nuri Sahin's winner in the Capital One Cup victory at West Brom on Wednesday.

"The contract is something we're looking at," Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo. "Suso makes things happen. He is tactically very good and strong technically with the ball.

"I love that type of player. You saw that when he came on against West Brom for the goal. He took the ball out of a tight space. Talent finds space and he is a real talent. He knows he still has a lot to learn but he's a good kid."

Suso earned a regular spot in Rodgers' first-team squad after impressing during the club's pre-season tour of North America.

"I have noticed a big progression in him since America," Rodgers added. "I thought he looked a bit tired when he came over as he had just come out of the Euro Under-19 Championships with Spain. Within a couple of days, he was on a plane and I was demanding him to work hard.

"I have seen a real difference in him in the last couple of months since I brought him up to Melwood. He has got a really good appetite for the game.

"He is on the same page in terms of the tactical idea for the team. If his fight matches his talent then we will have a very good player. We had a couple of offers for him to go abroad in the summer but I always said I didn't want him to go.

"I felt we had a very good young player so let's keep him here. He was keen to stay as he understood he was going to get a chance here. He's done very well in this early stage."

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