Sami Hyypia has welcomed the signing of central defender Gabriel Paletta, even though he knows the Argentine could potentially steal his place in the Liverpool starting line-up.
Hyypia now faces competition for his place alongside Jamie Carragher in the Reds’ defence from both Daniel Agger and Paletta, who will both challenge the Finnish international for his position this season.
But Hyypia is welcoming the competition and sees it as a positive move by manager Rafael Benitez for the team.
“He has all the qualities of a good centre-back and he can adapt very quickly to the English game. We will see the best of him when he starts to learn better English and adapts to the team better,” said Hyypia.
“When Daniel Agger came here, and now Paletta, it makes the team stronger and I’ll do everything I can to help the team to win.
“If that means my experience helping the other players actually get a place then so be it. But of course I want to play and I’m not finished yet. I feel fit and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t play.
“I played 59 games last season and I was a bit surprised at how many games I played. This time last year the manager told me there was going to be another centre-back but by the end of the season I had played 59 games. Now there are two more young players and it’s a challenge for me
“As you get older you notice that the recovery time after games is longer than it was 10 or 15 years ago. Last season was quite difficult in that way.”
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