'He's a nine in every category'
Alan Hansen has praised Reds defender Daniel Agger for his ability with the ball and likened the Dane to the centre-backs who represented the club with style and success during the 1970s and '80s.
Having won eight league titles and three European Cups during his 14-year spell at Anfield, the Scot shared a dressing room with a succession of elegant defenders.
And Hansen rates Liverpool's current No.5 right up there alongside them.
"When you look at some of the centre-backs Liverpool have had with the ball at their feet, in the '70s and '80s it was virtually everyone," Hansen told the Liverpool Echo.
"You could go through them and they were phenomenal with the ball at their feet. And Daniel's up there with the best of them.
"He's exceptionally comfortable in possession of the ball. He's never embarrassed when the ball is at his feet - and traditionally Liverpool centre-backs have always been all of that.
"If you look at the attributes you want in a top class centre-back he's a nine out of 10 in the vast majority, which are very high figures.
"The only thing you'd say against Daniel is that he was prone to injury before, but this is a decent spell without getting injured."
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Indeed Agger has played in all but one of the Reds' Barclays Premier League fixtures in 2012-13, forming a partnership with Martin Skrtel which Hansen believes is the ideal combination.
He added: "Daniel's a top class player. There's things you can see and some things people wouldn't see. Anticipation and interception is all part and parcel of centre-back play, but you always go back to the partnership he has with Skrtel and they complement each other.
"Skrtel's really strong in the air, whereas Daniel would be better on the ground and has better attributes on the ground."