Capello Has Confidence In Carroll

Fabio Capello is confident Andy Carroll's British record £35million price tag will not weigh the young striker down.

After an eye-catching England debut against France last November, Capello has been denied the 22-year-old's services for Wednesday's trip to Denmark. A thigh injury that could delay Carroll's Liverpool debut for anything between a couple of weeks and a couple of months, depending on who you believe, means Capello will have to look elsewhere for his strikers.

But the England coach already thinks of Carroll as being a regular member of his squad. And he certainly does not feel the forward's progress will be hampered by the size of the fee Kenny Dalglish splashed out to get him.

"The fee won't be a problem for him," said Capello. "He has a strong mentality. When he played for England, he played without fear and with such a lot of confidence for someone making his first appearance. It wasn't an easy game for him either because the team didn't play well. But he was the most important player for us and I am sure he will be OK."

Capello quite wisely opted not to get involved in a debate over the actual size of the fee Carroll attracted, restricting himself merely to an observation that: "Liverpool and Chelsea have spent a lot of money on strikers. As a manager you quickly understand you need a really important forward to win something and improve the team."

And for Carroll's part, the attraction of Liverpool is obvious, even for a born and bred Geordie, the added attraction of European football is something Capello is convinced will help his development.

"It is an important move for him. I respect Newcastle a lot but the pressure he will find at Liverpool will be bigger. He knows Liverpool are a really important team in the world because they won a lot of titles."

And pressure there will undoubtedly be. For while Luis Suarez's big-money arrival means Carroll is not on his own in being introduced to the Anfield way of life, he will be the one most eyes will be on. "He is a really good player," said Capello. "At the moment he is young and strong. He has a different style to Torres, but now they have lost him, Carroll will be a very important player for Liverpool."