Liverpool midfielder Emre Can has insisted that he should not be compared to former Reds captain Steven Gerrard.

The 21-year-old midfielder, who joined the Reds from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, was often deployed as a makeshift defender in his first campaign at Anfield.

Can says that while he admires Gerrard, who has left the Merseysiders to join Los Angeles Galaxy, he wants to become a successful Liverpool player in his own right.

"I think people understand it wrong," Can told Kicker. "It would be presumptuous if I compared myself with Steven Gerrard.

"He is a great player who achieved a lot. I'll need years to do that. I have the biggest respect for his performances and awards for Liverpool [but] I want to go my way and be perceived as Emre Can."

Can is currently with the Germany Under-21s at the European Championships in the Czech Republic.

Written by
Steven Toplis