Jamie Carragher insists Luis Suarez is currently the Premier League’s best player after emerging as Liverpool’s shining light this year.

The Uruguay international demonstrated his importance to the Reds once again on Sunday, bagging the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to earn his side a point and take his goal tally to 11 in all competitions.

The Anfield outfit have struggled to hit top gear under Brendan Rodgers this season and Carragher believes the fact that Suarez has maintained such a high level of performance in a struggling team, and remained in touch with Robin van Persie at the top of the goalscoring charts, is testament to his remarkable talent.

“I’ve said for 12 months now that he’s the best player in the Premier League because he’s maybe not playing alongside the kind of players that, for example, the Chelsea players can play alongside,” he told The Liverpool Echo.

“He’s one of the best players in world football and we are delighted to have him. He does things in a game that we see him doing in training on a daily basis.

“There’s always that question, I think being asked unfairly, of whether he scores enough goals, but isn’t he the top scorer in the league at the moment? And that’s in a team that hasn’t won that many league games this season, don’t forget.”

Suarez has scored eight of Liverpool’s 14 top-flight goals this term leading to questions over whether Rodgers is too over reliant on him to deliver every week, but Carragher says every team has an individual who inspires victory.

“People say that we are dependent on Suarez, but listen,” the veteran defender asserted. “Look at [Lionel] Messi at Barcelona and [Cristiano] Ronaldo at Real Madrid. Don’t get me wrong, Manchester United have had a lot of goalscorers from different positions.

“But every team will have a standout player, and Luis is one of them, not just in the Premier League but in the world.”