DAVID HEALY has revealed that Brendan Rodgers tried to sign Rangers midfielder Steven Davis while he was manager of Liverpool.

The Ibrox veteran penned a new one-year deal this summer and is still a key figure of Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side.

Healy has hailed his former teammate for his longevity and he insists there would be plenty more noise about him if he was from one of Europe's elite footballing countries. 

He told The Sun: “Davo certainly isn’t a bawler and shouter.

“He leads by example through his professionalism and the way he trains.

“When he is on it, when he is at his best, he plays in tight little areas and around people.

“There are some players who wouldn’t even be aware that the space was on but Davo is.

“He is one of the best midfielders I have played with.

“If he had been Spanish, Italian, French or from Argentina, journalists and people would have raved about him.

“If he’d come into the English Premier League from Argentina instead of being from Cullybackey then he’d have been announced a better player.

“I know Brendan Rodgers had a sniff around him when he was the manager at Liverpool. He ended up signing Joe Allen around that time instead.

“If Steven hadn’t been from Northern Ireland he may have got a really top move and that’s how much I rate him.

“He was a dream to play with for a striker but he was also a dream for any manager as well. He has that quality that every team needs.”