How Big a Steal Is Kolo Toure for Liverpool?

Luis Suarez may have decided to hog the back pages―this time for something that he seemingly wants to do rather than for an act he’s committed―but it shouldn’t be forgotten that Liverpool have been busy bringing players in this summer too.

The money spent on Simon Mignolet, Luis Alberto and Iago Aspas may have been pretty much recouped by the sales of Andy Carroll and Jonjo Shelvey, but it nonetheless signals a statement of intent at a time when other clubs are seemingly keeping an eye on their finances.

It could be a free-transfer signing who makes the most impact though.

In recent years the Reds have had differing fortunes with arrivals who coast them nothing.

Craig Bellamy, Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic, Philipp Degen, Maxi Rodriguez, Bolo Zenden and Andriy Voronin are just some of the players who have moved to Anfield in recent years without their previous clubs receiving a fee. Some were average, some were awful and some, well, Bellamy and Rodriguez, were pretty good.

Their ranks were swelled this summer when Kolo Toure made the short trip to Merseyside when his contract at Manchester City expired.

At the time it seemed like an odd move, but it is now making more and more sense.

The 32-year-old brings a wealth of experience to Anfield at a moment when an awful lot of it has walked out of the Shankly Gates with the departures of Jamie Carragher and now Pepe Reina.

A title winner at Arsenal and City, and a sometime captain of both as well as the Ivory Coast national team, Toure has slotted in to Liverpool life comfortably.

It is perhaps no surprise that Brendan Rodgers has paired him with the club’s No. 1 centre-back―and potential new vice-captain―Daniel Agger in preseason matches, as currently the pair represent the best two central defenders at the club. Martin Skrtel had a poor campaign last season, while Sebastian Coates is still very raw.

With less than three weeks until the start of the new Premier League season and no immediate sign of Liverpool spending big money on a central defender, the smart bet would have to be on Toure starting the opening match of the 2013/14 season against Stoke City at Anfield.

And the majority of Liverpool supporters will be quite happy with that.

Bar the signing of Bellamy, Toure represents a change of tack at Liverpool under the ownership of Fenway Sports Group.

He is not young, hungry and desperate to prove something, but that doesn’t mean he’s old, fulfilled and unambitious either.

Having taken a cut in wages to join the Reds from City, as reported by the Daily Mail, Toure has indicated that he isn’t just interested in a payday―and there would have been plenty of clubs across the globe who would have been willing to give him that―but instead he wants to play and make a difference for Rodgers.

With links to big-money central defenders having gone quiet for now at least, the Reds manager will instead have been focusing on Toure, who made 15 Premier League appearances for Roberto Mancini’s City last season.

Indeed, Rodgers said as much when he spoke on the Thailand leg of his club’s preseason tour, with his words recorded here by the Metro.

The manager said:

"

Defensively, I think we’ll be fine.

Kolo has been terrific since he came in here. He may be 32 years of age but he’s super fit and in great condition.

He’s a player who has looked after himself all his life. His age is no barrier and he’s someone with a winning mentality.

We have a number of other outstanding centre-halves in Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel. We also have an up-and-coming top talent in Andre Wisdom who will be a very good centre-half for Liverpool in the future. And we still have Sebastian Coates too.

"

That lack of overwhelming support for the Uruguayan doesn’t bode well for his future at the club, but the kind words for the emerging Wisdom are merited.

He may well be the future of Liverpool’s back four, but that doesn’t mean that Toure can’t play a big role in the present.

And right now, he’s playing that role pretty well.