One to Watch - Luis Suarez

Name: Luis Suarez

Date of Birth: 24/1/1987

Nationality: Uruguay

Former Clubs: Nacional, FC Groningen, Ajax

League Appearances (Goals): 193 (109)

International Appearances (Goals): 52 (26)

Stat of the Day: Of all players to have scored three or more PL goals this season, Luis Suarez has the lowest shot conversion rate (7.7%)

Never one to shy away from a controversial hand gesture, an alleged racist remark, a deliberate handball in the Quarter Finals of a World Cup, a mouthful of an opponent`s shoulder or a general insistence at clambering into the centre of anything controversial, there`s no denying that whilst Luis Suarez has all the attributes Craig Bellamy, El Hadj Diouf and Robbie Savage would pine for, he is a great player. His work-rate, flair and outstanding overall ability certainly places him amongst football`s elite and he has certainly filled the void left by Fernando Torres. Ray Wilkins must be banging his head against a wall at the Uruguayan`s inability to stay on his feet, but for all Suarez`s pitfalls, he possesses the exuberance and magic that fans pay to go and watch.

Despite only managing four league goals so far this season, his last coming at the beginning of October, Suarez constantly poses an attacking threat and a shaky QPR defence that has only kept one clean sheet in their last nine games hardly fills anyone with confidence at keeping the 24-year-old at bay. The guy with long hair they stick up front on the odd occasion, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson have hardly set Anfield alight this season, however, and Liverpool often look to Suarez to produce some kind of magic - keep the talented striker quiet and QPR may just find a way of scraping something on Saturday.

Playing Career

Luis Alberto Suarez Díaz was born in Salto, Uruguay and as a youngster he began his professional career with Nacional and helped them to the Primera División title in 2005/2006 while still only a teenager. His 10 goals in 27 appearances and string of impressive performances inevitably led to interest from a number of European clubs, and at the age of 19 he moved to Holland to play for FC Groningen.

Suarez further impressed at his second club, managing 10 goals in 29 appearances to help his club to eighth in the 2006/2007 season, before Ajax soon moved to snap the striker up for a bargain £7 million. Suarez was just as prolific a scorer in Amsterdam as he had been at his first club in Holland - eighty-one goals from 110 League matches in three and a half seasons soon catapulted Suarez to the top of the world`s elite and a memorable World Cup in 2010, where he infamously handled on the goal-line to stop an inevitable goal against Ghana to secure Uruguay`s place in the semi-finals, left him on the mouths of football fans across the world.

Soon after resuming his club career in Holland following the conclusion of the World Cup, Suarez became one of only a handful of players to score a century of first-team goals for Ajax. Not long after this landmark was achieved, his club punished him with a two-match ban and a heavy fine after he had bitten an opponent who was playing for PSV Eindhoven. Suarez had already stated his desire to play in the Premier League and Liverpool`s Director of Football Strategy Damien Comolli, went all out to make sure the striker ended up at Anfield, eventually signing in January 2011 for a fee of around £23 million.

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