Liverpool transfers: Tiago Ilori hopes to emulate Jamie Carragher

Tiago Ilori has set his sights on emulating Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher after joining the Reds from Sporting Lisbon.

The 20-year-old signed a contract with the Merseyside outfit on Monday after Liverpool agreed to pay a reported £6m to secure the Portugal youth international’s services.

Ilori, who was born in London, was part of Sporting Lisbon’s side that were emphatic 3-0 winners against the Reds in the 2011-12 NextGen Series.

And the young defender admits he is relieved the nerve-wracking process of finalising his Liverpool move is completed and is looking forward to making a good impression at his new club.

“It feels great being a Liverpool player – coming to the Premier League has always been a dream for me,” Ilori told Liverpool’s website.

“I’m going to try and achieve everything I can. I want to play as much as possible and we’ll see what the future holds. I will give my all and try my best to help the team.”

He added: “For me, the competition is great because I’m a young player, I want to learn and I think that with the players in my position I can learn a lot.

“I used to watch Jamie Carragher play as a young boy and I would have loved to have had the chance to train and play with him. I’d also like to one day maybe fill his place, too.

“The last 24 hours have been chaotic. It’s been nerve-wracking – I’ve just wanted to get things sorted out. But it’s been exciting as well.”

Ilori is Liverpool’s seventh signing of the summer transfer window, following Kolo Toure, Iago Aspas, Luis Alberto, Simon Mignolet, Mamadou Sakho and Aly Cissokho.