Liverpool’s Rodgers: Sakho an ‘absolute monster’ in training

Brendan Rodgers has described Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho as an “absolute monster” in training and has backed Tiago Ilori to fulfil his talent.

The Reds boss splashed £18m to sign Sakho from Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, while Rodgers snapped up Ilori in a £7m deal from Sporting Lisbon on deadline day.

On Friday, the 40-year-old hinted the pair could feature against Swansea City at Liberty Stadium on Monday night, and the Liverpool boss spoke of his delight at landing two quality defenders.

“I wanted to try and protect the present and the future of the club,” Rodgers told Liverpool’s website. “Good centre-halves are so hard to find.

“You look at some teams and they have ageing centre-halves because it is a struggle to get a really good one.

“We were fortunate in that two became available. One we had been tracking for a year in Tiago Ilori, a young talent who can be a big talent. He is 6ft 3in, super quick, powerful, can jump.

“He just needs to adapt to the pace and physicality of the Premier League. He is one for the future but he can be a really big talent.

“Sakho is 23 but he is an experienced player, he has senior international caps and looks an absolute monster in training. He is one who is ready for now and that is what we want.

“We had a chance to protect the club for maybe the next 10 years and that is what we have done.”