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Gerrard good enough to stay in Premier League - Mourinho

Jose Mourinho says Steven Gerrard is good enough to remain in the Premier League - and even joked he may take him on loan at Chelsea when the Liverpool midfielder joins LA Galaxy in the summer.

Gerrard played against Chelsea in Wednesday's League Cup semi-final, hitting the post in a 1-1 draw.

Jose Mourinho tried to sign Steven Gerrard in his first stint as Chelsea manager © Getty Images

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The former England captain has announced he will leave Anfield in the summer to move to Major League Soccer and said he could "never contemplate" lining up against Liverpool and ruled out joining another English club out of respect for them.

Gerrard turns 35 in May, but Mourinho feels the veteran, who has scored 182 goals in 698 games for Liverpool, is certainly not finished yet.

"I would love the Premier League to keep the best players and I believe he has the quality to play for more years," he said.

And Mourinho, who tried to sign the midfielder in both 2004 and 2005 during his first spell as Chelsea manager, joked that he might look to tempt Gerrard to play for the Blues on a short-term deal.

Asked if he would try to convince Gerrard to stay in the Premier League, he told the BBC: "Or to get him on loan."

Several MLS players, including Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan, have had loan spells in the Premier League in between American seasons, while David Beckham went to AC Milan twice.

And Chelsea's record goalscorer Frank Lampard agreed to sign for New York City only to return to the Premier League with Manchester City, initially for the first half of the current campaign, but then for the remainder of it.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd