Steven Gerrard says the capture of Fernando Torres has sent a major statement of intent to Liverpool’s Premiership rivals
The Liverpool captain believes that the club’s transfer activity this summer, and especially the signing of the £24million Spanish international, is more exciting than at any time since he broke into the first team in 1998.
And he is in no doubt the club’s record signing has all the ingredients necessary to set English football alight.
“I’ve never played against him, but I’ve watched him a lot,” Gerrard said. “I really like him and I’m sure he will prove a great signing for us.
“Torres has all the attributes to become firmly established as world class,” Gerrard said. “Some of the other players we’re being linked with excite me too. It’s great to see us looking at young, hungry players with their best years ahead of them.
Advertisement
“Since I’ve been in the first team I can’t remember us making such a major statement of intent in the transfer market as this.
“In recent years it’s only really been Manchester United and Chelsea buying players around the £20m mark, so it’s great to see us able to compete for players of that kind of value.
“The Liverpool board has always backed the manager and we’ve invested heavily over the years. Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier spent a lot of money, but we’ve all been looking for that extra step to close the gap and attract the kind of players United and Chelsea are able to afford.
“This is the first summer in a long time we’ve been able to do that. I’ll bet players and fans from other clubs have been looking at us and thinking: ‘Aye, aye, Liverpool are making a move for some of the big boys now.’
“That’s what’s so exciting. When the American owners took over they talked about three stages. The first was proceeding with the new stadium, which they’re doing. Then they wanted to secure the key players on long-term contracts, which they’ve done.
Advertisement
“Stage three is all about spending money on the players to make us compete for the Premiership, which has now started.
“We’re looking in great shape, not only going into this season, but for the next few years.”
Gerrard has also insisted that Liverpool must be quick out of the blocks at the start to the season if they are to bid for the Premier League title.
Liverpool have placed third behind Chelsea and Manchester United in the last two years, but were never seriously in contention in either campaign, and finishied 21 points behind champions United and 15 points behind runners-up Chelsea last season.
“I’ve heard it said before that you can’t win the league in the first 10 games, but you can lose it. That’s definitely been true in our case,” Gerrard added. “In the last two years we’ve lost any chance of challenging in the first 10 games.
Advertisement
“You can’t give teams like United and Chelsea the kind of head starts we have. This year it’s essential we get off to a flyer, or at the very least stay with them far longer than we’ve done in the past.”