Adam Eager To Show His Worth

Liverpool fans will finally get to discover whether the long wait was worth it when Charlie Adam makes his competitive debut next month.

The 25-year-old first emerged as a target for manager Kenny Dalglish in January after some impressive performances as captain of Blackpool.

Dalglish was frustrated not to secure the services of his fellow Scot back then, but some hard bargaining by the Seasiders delayed the completion of a £6.75million deal until July, when the Reds were in a much stronger position as Blackpool had been relegated and Adam was down to the final 12 months of his contract.

Adam finds himself battling for a place in what is already an over-stocked midfield, but it seems inconceivable he will not be given a decent run after the club worked so hard to bring him in.

The Scotland international has impressed in pre-season, but knows he has to take a significant step up when the Barclays Premier League kicks off.

He has played in the Scottish top flight for Rangers with marginal success but his displays for Blackpool, when he was the player the whole team revolved around, were the ones which got him noticed.

Adam is confident he will be able to adapt to no longer being the star turn and is realistic to understand he still has plenty to learn.

He said: "It feels like we have been playing together for a long time but Liverpool have many other talented midfielders, the likes of Steven Gerrard, Lucas Leiva, Raul Meireles and (fellow new signing) Jordan Henderson.

"I think the competition for places will be good for the club. I thrive on that type of challenge and I'm sure the others lads will as well.

"I want to learn and there are some of the best players in the world at this club so if I can learn from them I am going to improve as a player. That is my aim.

"I see this as the perfect development for me to come here, play with such wonderful players and hopefully help the team to win trophies, because that's the most important thing."

Managing expectations is something Adam will also have to get used to.

At Blackpool their sole aim was avoiding relegation, but now he is at a club which will be challenging to regain their place in the top four and the mindset required is totally different.

Not that Adam is lacking in ambition.

"I came to Liverpool to win titles and I would trade in anything for that, even if it meant not scoring at all next season," he added.

"I can't wait to get started and hopefully this will be a successful period in my career and in the club's history.

"At the end of the day you get judged on trophies and as a footballer you want to win as many as you can. This club has had a lot of success over the years, so let's get back to doing that."