Luis Suarez was the man expected to need time to settle when he and Andy Carroll arrived at Liverpool in a £57.8million double swoop in January.
Yet he hit the ground running, while Carroll is still struggling to find his feet.
Suarez’s dazzling form for Liverpool is in total contrast to Carroll’s woes and the England striker has found himself in and out of the team as he struggles with injuries and inconsistency.
While some Kopites mutter under their breath about the wisdom of spending £35m on Carroll, Suarez still believes he can come good.
He says the big Geordie has been unlucky and insists they can still make their partnership work for Liverpool.
Suarez, 24, instantly replaced Fernando Torres as the fans’ Kop idol and his four league goals and two assists do not come close to illustrating how important he is to Liverpool.
He is so happy he says he wants to remain at Liverpool beyond the five-year deal he signed when he arrived in his £22.8million switch from Ajax after previously admitting a wish to play for Barcelona.
“I’ve just started a phase of my career which I always dreamed about and wanted to do, which is to play for Liverpool,” he said.
“I have five years left on my contract and I think beyond that, I’m already thinking about staying many more years at Liverpool.
“It’s a club I like. I feel very good about being here, about being in the city.
“I feel very pleased. It would be difficult to match the atmosphere, hunger for success and glory that this club has at another team.”
Suarez’s pledge is a massive vote of confidence in Kenny Dalglish and the South American wants to repay the Liverpool boss’s faith in him.
He says he can barely understand Dalglish’s Glaswegian accent with his limited English, but has picked up enough to understand how highly he rates the new custodian of his famous No.7 shirt.
“The truth is there’s not much conversation with Kenny because of the language barrier, which makes it hard for me,” Suarez added.
“But he is the one who has given me confidence. He was the one who had confidence in me. He was the one who said ‘I want Suarez’. That sort of belief is something you repay when you play.
“When a coach gives you confidence, you can give your very best back.
“If you don’t have faith in your manager, it’s very difficult to play well and I think Kenny has a lot of confidence in me.”
Suarez shares Liverpool’s hunger for the Premier League and says it is his “little dream” to win the title.
He accepts that isn’t going to happen this season and feels a more realistic target is a top-four spot and a Champions League place.
The former Ajax star is desperate to play in Europe’s elite club competition and says not playing in the Europa League this season can help Liverpool achieve that goal.
“I do not wish to belittle the Europa League and I do think that Liverpool should be in Europe,” said Suarez, whose nickname is El Pistolero – the Gunslinger.
“But I think not playing in the Europa League this year will really do us some good.
“We can really focus on the Premier League and move up the table as high as we can.
“We always dream about being Premier League champions, but we know it’s a very difficult league to win.
“It’s very competitive and a lot of teams want to become champions.
“But I think we have a quality squad. We trust in our manager and we trust our team-mates.
“We’re confident in our ability and Liverpool can aim to finish in the Champions League positions.
“And there is always that dream, that little dream, about actually winning the Premier League.”
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