Liverpool director of football Damien Comolli believes the club has pulled off a coup by signing Stewart Downing from Aston Villa.
The 26-year-old winger, who turns 27 this week, signed for a fee in the region of £20 million last week and joins fellow summer signings Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and goalkeeper Alexander Doni at Anfield.
The Reds chief was puzzled but pleased by the lack of competition for the former Middlesbrough man’s signature, and is looking forward to seeing him link up with a rebuilt Liverpool side.
“Maybe his talent is a little bit undervalued in English football, but we know what we are getting - and we are getting a very, very good, efficient footballer,” Comolli told the club’s official website.
“When we have Andy [Carroll] up front, he can put those balls in, but also he's got more than that.
“He is more than a winger, he can do a lot of things. He can link up with Luis Suarez by coming in, he can play on the right and on the left.
“We look thoroughly into data and statistics before signing players and we really think we are bringing a big, big asset into our team."
The deal took a long time to push through as newly appointed Villa manager Alex McLeish was not keen to let the winger leave after Ashley Young’s recent departure to Manchester United.
However, Comolli is delighted to have the England international on Merseyside.
He said: “It's difficult to say he was our No.1 target because all of our targets are our No.1 target.
“We did not prioritize on who we wanted to sign first, but we needed that pace and wide player that can bring us something extra, which we did not have in the squad.
“He has the right mentality, the right attitude and was absolutely committed to coming to us, so we are delighted.”
As well as praising Downing, the Liverpool chief said the club has signed most of the players it was hoping to and it will now focus on sending players out on loan and offloading those who want more minutes on the pitch.
“I'm sure there will be players going out because some players would like to play more and have more minutes,” Comolli continued.
“We will probably have a few loans as well; players who we would like them to develop, into the Championship or the leagues abroad.
“In terms of players coming in, it's difficult to say. I think we are going to sit down, look at the situation, see where we are, see who might leave and then we will reassess later. But we have done most of what we wanted to do.”
The director of football at Anfield also hailed the owners on their role since they arrived at the club, and specifically with the Downing deal.
He added: “They have been absolutely fantastic. Kenny has said it previously, and they have been very, very helpful on the Stewart Downing deal.
“They gave us absolute full support. It's not only financial – obviously they made a fantastic financial commitment – but they're also very, very supportive asking if they can help.
“We have also taken advice from them asking what they think about a deal or what they think we should do.
“They are very open, they try to help us as much as they can and, again, I won't go into details, but on the Stewart Downing deal they were a great help.”
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