Luis Suarez

Liverpool legend Ian Rush has insisted that Luis Suarez is worth £100m after the Uruguayan international's prolific run this season.

The 26-year-old had publicly expressed his desire to leave the Merseyside club in the summer and was the subject of multiple bids from Arsenal. However, Liverpool chiefs were successful in keeping their star player at the club, who has been a key man for Brendan Rodgers's side this season.

Suarez has 19 goals and five assists from 13 league appearances this season and is the leading scorer in the Premier League. The Uruguayan international signed a new four and a half year deal at Anfield earlier this month.

The former Ajax man was made the captain in the absence of Steven Gerrard's injury and Rush has hailed his leadership skills on the pitch.

"If you did sell Suarez you are talking about a fee of £100m. He has made a huge difference. As well as scoring goals, he has been making them," Rush said, as quoted in the Express.

"To make him captain in Steven Gerrard's absence was a great decision by Rodgers. He's not a selfish player. Look at the goal he set up for Raheem Sterling against Cardiff. That's what I like about him – he plays for the team."

Suarez missed the early part of this season as he was serving a 10- match ban for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic last term. The former Swansea manager claims the incident has transformed the striker's Liverpool career.

Rush has insisted that Suarez is ahead of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona star Lionel Messi as the former Liverpool striker claims the Premier League is the toughest league in the world.

"Suarez is unbelievable. What I am saying now is he is the best player in the world. People talk about Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but they are not playing regularly through injuries right now in Spain. Suarez is, and he is doing it in the hardest league in the world," Rush stressed.

"I thought last season he and Gareth Bale were the two best players in the Premier League. You wondered whether that might be just a one-off for Suarez but he is even better now. He has taken his football to a different level."

Suarez is likely to face Ivanovic for the first time after the incident when Liverpool make a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Sunday.