BALAGUE OPINION ON KEANE SIGNING

Guillem Balague has been talking about the signing of Robbie Keane from Tottenham.

Balague - Spain's top football expert and a close friend of Rafa Benitez - believes the Keane capture is an excellent bit of business for the Reds.

He said: "The signing of Keane is Rafa's nice surprise for the Liverpool fans. He is a player who will improve the side, no doubt about it.

"I'm fed up already with people questioning his strike rate and talking about percentages. That is nonsense because Keane is a top quality player and he will show that once he puts on the red shirt.

"His arrival cheers everybody up and we can't wait for the start of the season. With Keane on board now alongside Torres I've got a pretty good feeling about the season ahead.

"When Rafa signed Torres last year people didn't know that much about him in England so there wasn't that high expectancy but he had a sensational first season. Keane does arrive with great expectations but he will deliver. Torres and Keane is the perfect partnership for me."