Michael Laudrup sees some of Philippe Coutinho in Alejandro Pozuelo

By Joe Fish, Reporter | 02 October 2013

Swansea boss Michael Laudrup hopes that Spanish playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo will emulate the success achieved by Philippe Coutinho at Liverpool.

Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup believes that there are similarities between his new attacking midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo and Liverpool success-story Philippe Coutinho.

The 22-year-old, who arrived at the Liberty Stadium for just £450,000 in the summer, has impressed when given the chance in the Europa League and also in cameos off the bench domestically.

Laudrup feels that the Spaniard will need time to discover his complete potential, but has backed Pozuelo to emulate Coutinho's fledgling Anfield career when the Premier League sees the best of him.

He told reporters: "Alex has a lot of talent. He is a player that you can see he is still young, but he has so much quality with two feet. He still has to learn a lot of things and we have to bring him forward – and that's what we will do.

"But I think he can do here what Coutinho has done at Liverpool. I remember when Coutinho arrived from Inter he had a lot to learn, but now he is one of the most important players at Liverpool.

"With time, Pozuelo can do the same here because he has the same ability with the ball, same ability in finding space, being good one-on-one and having very good vision, and we know he has two good feet because we don't know if he is right or left footed."

Pozuelo, who played for Real Betis before moving to Wales, has scored twice for the Swans in his five Europa League appearances, but has yet to start a Premier League match.