The 18-year-old spent the second half of the season on loan at Birmingham as the England international proved a key member of the title-chasing side, and is now keen to kick on

Jordon Ibe is eager to follow in the footsteps of Raheem Sterling and establish himself in Liverpool’s first-team squad.

The 18-year-old made his senior debut for Brendan Rodgers’ team on the final day of the 2012-13 season, but did not feature in the Premier League this term.

By contrast, Sterling – who is exactly one year older than Ibe – has grown into a key member of the squad and was rewarded for his form in the second half of the season with a place in England’s World Cup squad.

“Raheem has done extremely well – he’s kicked on to another level this season,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“I’m really happy for him and hopefully he can continue playing at that level with Liverpool and with England.

“He’s someone I look up to, definitely. He plays in a similar position and he’s a similar age. He’s someone I watch in training and try to learn from the way he plays.

“I watch Raheem, Daniel Sturridge and the other attacking players in training. I just try to learn from them, improve myself and hopefully, if and when I get my chance in the first team, I will be ready to take it.”

The Liverpool forward will take on some familiar faces when the two nations meet in Manaus but is confident that this side can cause the Three Lions problems

Luis Suarez believes that Uruguay have the ability to expose England’s weaknesses at the World Cup.

The Liverpool star is expected to lead his country’s attack in Brazil and will come up against a host of club team-mates when they face the Three Lions in Group D on June 19.

A number of Reds players are likely to feature for Roy Hodgson – including Suarez’s strike partner, Daniel Sturridge, and captain Steven Gerrard – though, while the former Ajax forward is not taking his opponents lightly, he feels that his side have what it takes to cause them problems in Manaus.

“I think [England] have very good players that are in form and that are part of the big teams,” Suarez told Perform.

“Most of the players come from the big names of the Premier League and that means a lot but we also know that they have some troubles and we know we can hurt them.”

No team from outside South America has ever won a World Cup held on the continent whereas Uruguay actually triumphed when the competition was last held in Brazil, in 1950, and the likes of Suarez and Edinson Cavani make the reigning Copa America champions a real threat this time around.

Uruguay were beaten by Brazil in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup last year but Suarez hopes to use that defeat as motivation.

“It is clear that Uruguay knows the meaning of a World Cup in Brazil,” the 27-year-old added. “It is more important because of what happened in the past but now we are living in the present – Brazil eliminated us in the Confederations Cup and it was not fair because I think we played better but that’s football and sometimes, despite playing a great game, you can’t always win.

“We realise that [the World Cup in] Brazil motivates us a lot because all the things that we have experienced in the past but there will be other national teams that will try to leave a good image and football nowadays is pretty even.”

Michael Reschke says the midfielder should continue to develop at the BayArena rather than move to Liverpool, who have been linked with a €12.2 million bid

Liverpool’s hopes of signing Bayer Leverkusen’s versatile midfielder Emre Can have taken a hit after the Bundesliga club promised to do “everything” that they could to retain his services.

The Reds had been linked with a €12.2 million move for the Germany Under-21s international, a fee which would meet a rumoured buyout clause in his contract.

But Leverkusen are determined to keep Can at the BayArena for at least another year and are adamant that his development would be best served at the club which he joined from Bayern Munich last summer.

“We will do everything we can to ensure that Emre plays for us at least one more season,” squad manager Michael Reschke told the Rheinische Post.

He added to Bild: “We are convinced that another year would be right for his sporting development with us.”

Can’s transfer to Leverkusen included a buy-back clause which would complicate further any deal for the 20-year-old, with Bayern sporting director Rudi Voller insisting that no bid had yet been made.

“There is still no official request,” Voller said of Liverpool’s rumoured interest.

Can left the Allianz Arena in search of first-team football and has made 29 Bundesliga appearances in the 2013-14 campaign with Leverkusen, scoring three times.