Torres Delighted With "Important" Keane Signing

Fernando Torres last night admitted he is delighted to see Robbie Keane join the squad at Anfield, and was relishing the prospect of playing with the £20m striker this season.

While the Irish international striker only made his pre-season debut for the Reds in a 0-0 draw against Villarreal last night, Torres has already seen more than enough of the 28-year-old to be impressed. He told The Guardian:

"Robbie Keane really wanted to come and I think he is going to bring us an enormous amount – hard work, goals, and experience", Torres said. "He'll bring the level of the team up a notch and I'm sure he's going to be very important this season."

In the media, much of the speculation around the transfer has now focused on how Benitez plans to accommodate both Torres and Keane in his Anfield side. While the Spaniard and the Irishman did not link up on the pitch last night (Keane played the first 45mins and Torres just the last 20), afterwards ‘El Nino’ gave a few hints as to where his new teammate would be playing:

"Keane has great mobility and versatility. He can play on the wing or a bit behind the striker. It's good for the team to have a player who can get in between the opposition's midfield and defence and score goals. He's quick and clever," the Euro 2008 winner said. "The tactical lay-out of the team is down to Rafa. When he signed Keane he had a clear idea of where he wanted to play him."

The question for Liverpool fans now, then, is will such a partnership be successful? Reds supporters have been waiting patiently for a deadly strike duo for years now, a partnership that could propel them towards the league title. Has Benitez now found that partnership?

The omens are good. As he showed last term, Torres is a top-notch Premiership striker who should be good for 20+ goals every season (he got 24 last term). Encouragingly, Keane scored 15 goals himself in the same campaign for Spurs. If they can replicate such form this season, a combined contribution of 39 goals would be extremely useful.

But there is no reason why they should not do even better. To many commentators within the game, Keane looks the perfect foil for Torres – the Spaniard thrives on the short, intricate passing and clever through balls that Keane is so skilled at.

And, with Steven Gerrard playing behind them, both men can expect plenty of great service from midfield. Keane has already acknowledged he is looking forward to linking up with the Kop legend:

"I can't wait to play more with Stevie," he said. "He's a world-class player and he's able to spot passes that maybe other players don't see. Chances will come along with Stevie."

"He's easy to play with because he's such a good player and I thought we linked up well. Playing with someone like him can only make my job easier. We had a few good moments [against Villarreal] and, hopefully, that will continue."

Exciting times for Keane and Torres, exciting times for Liverpool fans. Rafa may have finally found that iconic strike partnership to follow in a long line of Liverpool greats.