Liverpool midfielder and Brazilian Lucas Leiva believes his compatriot Philippe Coutinho is a "proper Brazilian," who is going to give Liverpool fans some real joy in the upcoming years.

Coutinho signed for the Reds from Inter Milan, and has been given the No. 10 shirt, leaving little doubts on the kind of player he is.

"Coutinho is a very talented player," Lucas told Liverpool Echo. "He is very young but he has a lot of experience already.

"I had the chance to watch him when he got his first cap for Brazil a couple of years ago as we were both in the team.

"He is a proper Brazilian with a lot of skill and he likes to play with the ball and score goals.

"He had a very good spell at Espanyol when he was on loan last season and I think he will be a great player for the future for us."

While diminutive playmakers are a dime a dozen nowadays, there are still concerns about their adaptability to the physical aspects of the English Premier League, but Lucas has no worries about the 20-year-old capabilities.

"I think he will be able to cope," he added. "Of course in Italy it's a different type of game but he has experience of playing in both Serie A and La Liga.

"We hope he settles very quickly. Hopefully he will feel comfortable and play really well for us.

"The manager spoke with me but not to ask about his talents as I think he was sure about that already.

"He just wanted to know what I knew about Coutinho as a person. I only had positive things to say.

"I know he doesn't speak much English so I will try to help as much as I can to make him feel at home.

"We have Luis, Coates and myself here. We will all try to make him feel really comfortable. We'll make sure he settles very quickly like Luis and Coates and is able to show his qualities."

Meanwhile, former Liverpool goalkeeper Doni, who made a deadline day move to Botafogo, explained his absence from the Liverpool team since his last appearance on the final day of last season.

Liverpool has refused to comment on the situation surrounding Doni, but the goalkeeper said he almost died after suffering a heart attack.

"I almost... I almost ended up on the other side," he told calciomercato.com. "I had a heart attack for about 25 seconds.

"I've been to one of the best doctors in Europe who looked at me carefully. He's asked me to stop for a few months.

"Now I have to stay put until April, then I can return to the field, I want to play in the 2014 Paulista championship.

"I always had an arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) and during some tests in Liverpool suffered a cardiac arrest," he added on Globo.

"I carried out checks across Europe and I had to extend my period of absence from the field."