Malaga boss Javi Gracia has insisted that on-loan Luis Alberto still has a "promising future" despite struggling in La Liga recently.

Bought from Liverpool in the summer of 2013 for £6.8 million, Alberto struggled to make an impact in the 2013-14 - making just two starts for Brendan Rodgers' side. 

But the Northern Irishman opted to send the Spanish prospect out on loan for the 2014-15 campaign, as opposed to giving up on the ex-Barcelona B star.

Unfortunately for Alberto, he has never really asserted himself into Gracia's plans, despite scoring the winning goal against Athletic Bilbao in the La Liga opener back in August.

He has another goal to his name, scoring an outside-of-the-box winner against Elche, but the 22-year-old playmaker has only played the full 90 minutes once from 17 appearances in the league and the Copa Del Ray.

Yet Malaga manager Gracia was keen to hail Alberto's talents, despite the Spaniard having yet to nail down a regular first-team place in his side.

"Luis Alberto began the season playing regularly but there have been other options that we have used more as the season progressed. He had a period out of the team with injuries but he is fit now. He is different: he has a technical level that sets him apart from other players.

"He is talented, finishes well and scores goals. It is true that he is playing less than he might like because others are playing well, but he has a promising future. It is hard for a player to go on loan because he wants to play and then find that he is not playing as often as he needs but I can’t differentiate between a loan player and one who has a contract with us: I can only be fair and pick the players I think can help us most."

Gracia continued: "Despite having been at big clubs already, he still has a career to build. He has it all to do: he has to demonstrate what a good player he is. He’s been at Liverpool and Barcelona but how many first division games has he played? Very few.

“He needs to play and so far he has not had as many opportunities as I am sure he would like," said the Malaga manager, whose side currently sit 7th in the league after recently beating Barcelona at the Nou Camp. "He has to take the chances he gets to prove that he can play at the highest level. I have no doubt that he is a very good player but he still needs to consolidate himself."