Steven Gerrard claims he played with a striker at Liverpool who was so underrated

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Liverpool may not have always had the best team, but they certainly had their fair share of elite strikers.

The Reds have had a huge summer in the transfer market, with a lot of focus being on the strikers they have brought into the club.

Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak have both arrived competing for the same spot, with both hoping to leave a legacy at Liverpool that will be remembered forever.

They also have a bit of pressure on their shoulders too as the Reds have had a lot of quality strikers throughout their time, meaning expectations are high.

Someone who knows all about the great strikers the club have had is Steven Gerrard, with the former captain playing with quite a few across his 17-year Anfield career.

However, there is one who sticks out from the rest, with Gerrard believing that he was severely underrated during his time there.

Steven Gerrard believes Michael Owen is still underrated

A common theme among many of the strikers Liverpool have had is that almost all of them are very well liked and would be welcomed back to Anfield at any time, but Michael Owen is a bit different from the rest.

After joining Real Madrid and then, eventually, Manchester United, the former academy player is no longer held in high regard by the majority of Reds fans, with most pretending he never existed.

No matter what, though, there is no denying how good a footballer he was, even if he does not get the credit anymore.

In fact, despite winning the Ballon d’Or, Gerrard still believes that Owen was so good that he did not, and does not, get the plaudits he deserves.

“I think in Michael’s case, he doesn’t get enough credit. Especially in the period where he touches on a lot from 17 to 23, before he got the big hamstring injury,” Gerrard said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents Podcast.

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“He was as good as anyone in terms of being a striker. And the thing that people maybe don’t know about Michael is they see this little small centre-forward who’s this pretty boy, family man, blah, blah, blah. He was an animal.

“He was a nasty piece of work. He was a nasty, nasty piece of work.”

Michael Owen almost rejoined Liverpool

It is understandable why some fans cannot forgive him after he joined one of their biggest rivals in Man United, but things could have been very different.

Owen admitted that he almost rejoined Liverpool from Real Madrid before going on to Newcastle, with a return to Anfield the only thing he wanted.

However, the Spanish giants received a higher offer and gave him an ultimatum; either he stays or he goes to Newcastle.

Persistent injuries meant he never got the move back to his boyhood club in the end, but he did not help his case by joining the Red Devils, meaning he completely destroyed the legacy he worked so hard to build.