Why Raul will be Kop star

New signing Raul Meireles is in contention to make his Liverpool debut at Birmingham City today - but what can we expect from Portugal's World Cup star?
We enlisted the expert view of journalist Luis Pedro Ferreira, a reporter for popular Portugese football website Maisfutebol.pt, to find out more about our new No.4.

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Meireles. Mr Raul Meireles. He was a masseur at Boavista, a well-known club from Oporto.

Those 'weird shirts' - as they were once described - created an impression on Europe during the 90s. The club was finally crowned Portuguese champions in 2001 but then started to fall.

However, as Boavista receded down the tiers, the stock of Mr Meireles's son was rising and rising.

First he conquered the Portuguese league and now he'll try to win over Anfield. Can he do it? I'm confident he will, unless he returns to his former career as an electrician...

Raul Meireles is a product of Boavista's youth system. His father accompanied his career in the early stages, though he never dreamt his son would forge such a successful career in professional football.

While at Boavista's academy, Raul studied and worked as a car electrician. But then he became an U16 European champion with Portugal and with it a career in football opened up ahead of him.

Cars and electricity would have to wait.

First, he was loaned to Desportivo das Aves, where he was known as the star of the team.

His Aves spell in the Portuguese second division lasted two seasons before he rejoined Boavista in 2003-04.

20-plus games later he was transferred to FC Porto. In 2004-05, he was used mainly as a substitute as the Dragons endured one of their worst seasons of the last decade.

But when Dutch coach Co Adriaanse took charge of the team at the end of that season, the former Ajax manager gambled on Meireles. And won.

Adriaanse played with a 3-4-3 system, which is unusual in Portuguese football. Meireles coped with the change in tactical setup even if he was, and perhaps still is, used to playing in a 4-3-3 - the system he has operated in (almost) all his life.

So, is Meireles a defensive or an offensive midfielder? Neither. And both.

Roy Hodgson said earlier this week Raul was an all-round midfield player. He was spot on.

Last season, Liverpool often played with Lucas Leiva and Javier Mascherano as holding central midfielders - but Meireles is different from the pair as he tends to attack a lot more, but is always aware of his defensive duties.

If you were to ask me, I believe he should be deployed a bit further forward in the space between Lucas or Christian Poulsen and Steven Gerrard, allowing him to help the Brazilian defensively while assisting the captain in building up attacks.

Raul is what we call in Portugal a 'transition player'. He is very strong when he gets the ball from the opposition and launches attacks. With one pass, he can get the ball quickly upfront and provide good service for the strikers.

Meireles is a simple footballer, he plays simple. He is not a player with lots of skills or tricks.

He has a good shot from range and covers a lot of grass - one of the reasons he so often appears in the penalty box to score.

Meireles also has a strong mentality and never hides. He played for FC Porto, and mental toughness is a club trademark.

Off the field, Meireles is renowned for being quite a character - with a fondness for tattoos. A warm and friendly guy away from the pitch, but the hardest of workers on it.

Naturally, of course, he will need time to adapt to the Premier League pace. Once he does that, you will find out that he knows all about being in the right place at the right time.