Gus Poyet has said that Sebastian Larsson is "close to the perfect midfielder" ahead of Sunderland's match against Liverpool this weekend.

The Sweden international, who has been with the club since 2011, has started all 14 of the team's Premier League matches this season.

The manager told The Chronicle: "We've got players in here that are going to do things all the time. For a manager, that's perfect.

"You know that Seb is going to run the most, in terms of distances, going and coming back, and then going again. When Seb is good on the ball, his delivery is great and he gets crosses into the box, then on his day, he's close to the perfect midfielder.

"Unless you are incredibly gifted technically, where every single one doesn't give the ball away, you need legs. You need to run and cover the ground. Seb has got that. It was a great option to keep Seb in the summer. It wasn't easy, but we got him."

Larsson has scored twice for Sunderland this season.