Is anyone worth £27m?

So it looks like we’ve got our man. Fernando Torres even cut short his holiday to finalise the deal. He’s had, and passed, his medical so presumably he will be a Liverpool player possibly before I even get round to posting this on Wednesday morning!

Many will say that the new owners have put their money where their mouths are. Or have they? We’ll probably get around £20m from the Champions League run and we will be selling others such as Garcia, Gonzalez and Bellamy which should reduce the net outlay considerably. However, this deal certainly brings to an end all the impatient speculation and worry about transfer inactivity and us not having the ambition? Torres was one of top players we were linked with and it looks the like the club has delivered with this one. But….

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m really pleased Torres is joining us. He looks an exciting player but isn’t it strange that we did not face much competition for his signature? Was it because Chelsea don’t seem to be spending heavily this season? Spurs were after Darren Bent? Arsenal were too busy trying to hold on to Henry? The Mancs had already spent a large chunk of their budget and I guess Torres didn’t want to move to another Spanish club? Or was it simply that the buy out clause of £27m in Torres’ contract was just too much for everyone?

This is all water under the bridge now. £27m is the market price for Torres at this moment in time? Or was it? £27m was in fact what we had to pay to invoke Torres’ get out clause. Had no clause existed what would have paid? It is difficult to assess through looking at the other transfer activity this summer. If £17m is the asking rate for a striker of Darren Bent’s ability then obviously Torres is worth more, but £10m more? Moreover Bent, to my mind was ludicrously overpriced especially when you compare this to the £16m Barcelona paid for Henry and that’s even allowing for the age gap.

Should age be a factor? We’ve signed Torres on a six year deal so theoretically we should get our money’s worth as his “peak” years should be with us? He is 23 now. However we are only talking of “potential” here. At £27m should we be entitled to expect someone nearer the finished article? There is no knowing if Torres will achieve this. Splashing out nearly £27m on a player does not guarantee quality initially, or in the future. It is a massive gamble. What will happen if he has say, two disastrous seasons then surely he will be out of the door, and for a price considerably less than £27m?

It is also a fact, perhaps an unfair one, that strikers, despite the other attributes they might bring to the team, will be judged on how many goals they score. Torres scored 14 goals last season in 36 games yet we are paying £27m for him. Peter Crouch scored 18 last season but I’ll run naked down Scotland Road if he ever gets transferred for £27m! If Torres gets 14 goals or, like Crouch, 18 goals for us next season, will that be considered a good initial return on our investment?

Perhaps we should console ourselves with the fact that when Alan Shearer was signed by Blackburn from Southampton he’d scored 23 goals in 122 appearances, even Henry, when he was with Monaco, only managed 20 goals in 110 appearances. So does Torres’ overall total of 91 goals in 243 look so bad?

This is of course idle, unsubstantiated speculation. Torres is not Shearer, or Henry. But these are examples of how a move can galvanise a player and take him on the next level, especially if he is surrounded and supported by better players. Let’s hope Torres goes on to be more prolific with us. However, equally the move could cripple him.

Even though he is not responsible for his transfer fee, the pressure on Torres will be immense. Many will want to see him justifying his fee immediately, probably the same sort who think his signing means the championship will be a formality next season! He will need to be impervious to criticism if he takes time to settle and doesn’t hit it off immediately. We need to be patient. There is also the added burden of moving to a foreign country. Spanish players have a chequered history over here, for every Fabregas and Alonso there’s Morientes or a Reyes but Torres has one advantage – a lot of Spanish speaking players in the Liverpool dressing room including the manager.

Which brings me to Benitez. It finally looks as if he will get the sort of players he feels we should be buying. He has made clear his frustration about our failings in this department, the latest outburst being after Athens. Well Rafa, now you have one. The pressure is slowly shifting towards you to deliver your side of the deal, and take us forward.

So, pressure on Benitez as well as Torres but, even though the burden of £27m notes is shared, it will not prove any lighter. Let’s pray it is lifted, and forgotten about, soon?