Alan Shearer has heaped praise on the 'absolutely magnificent' Sofyan Amrabat for his part in Morocco's World Cup success.
Amrabat has been an ever-present figure as the North African side became the first on the continent to reach the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by France this evening despite another spirited performance. The Fiorentina man has seemingly covered every blade of grass as he limited world-class opposition to just one goal in the five games preceding tonight.
Such form has inevitably attracted interest from the Premier League's top sides, with Liverpool reported to be alongside Tottenham Hotspur in exploring the possibility of a January move. Recent reports have even gone as far as to suggest that Jurgen Klopp has met with representatives of the 26-year-old as they discuss the suitability of a move to Anfield.
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Praise from Shearer, then, provided yet another encouraging sign of how highly-regarded Amrabat is.
"He’s been absolutely magnificent," Shearer told BBC's pre-match coverage. "I said it at the top of the show, they’re really difficult to beat and very good without the ball, and one of the reasons for that is this guy. He gives them so much protection, you can see how many tackles he’s made and he’s a huge part of their success up to now.
"He’ll do exactly what he’s been doing up to now (against France), and this job there, you’ll see him just in front of the back four, maybe a back five tonight, he’ll still be in there, patrolling, trying to read the game, trying to stop any balls into the front players, and that’s what he’s done the entire tournament.
"He gets it and then he can feed the ball in, and you can see him go back there. He’ll be reluctant to get forward as he wants to protect, he’ll want to do that.
"He really enjoys that and he’s really good at that - ‘get off the ball, I’m having it’ - and he’s setting his team forward. He’s been key. He does that, he protects, he can get out there and help his full-backs, and that’s what he’s in that role to do - to stop, and be a spoiler - he’s excellent at it. Then he drives forward and they’re on their way. He’s been magnificent, he really has."
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