Jeez, that was fast

Liverpool sign Alberto Aquilani for £20m to fill Xabi Alonso's berth Football.Guardian.co.uk

So...it looks like Rafa has had this deal in the pipeline for a long time. From what I've read, it sounds like Liverpool had already completed an agreement with Roma over Alberto Aquilani, including agreeing terms with player himself, in anticipation of Alonso's departure. Now that it is all over and done with, Benitez has admitted that Alonso had asked to leave as long ago as May. One can only assume, then, that the deal has taken so long because Rafa was keen on extracting the maximum possible fee from Real Madrid for Alonso's transfer. Though I'm disappointed to see Xabi Alonso depart, it sounds like he had his heart well and truly set on leaving, and in that light, the way Benitez handled the negotiations for the transfer were masterfully done indeed.

On paper, this deal does look like a rather tidy bit of business. Aquilani is only 25- two years younger than Alonso. He has captained both Italy's under-19s and under-21s. The above article reports that both Chelsea and Arsenal had previously tried to sign him as a teenager. A quick YouTube survey indeed revealed a player that looks to possess a great passing game as well as a thunderbolt of a shot. Selling Alonso for 30million pounds, and buying Aquilani (a younger model) for 20million pounds seems like some pretty astute management. I am, however, not without concern.

It sounds like Aquilani is a tad injury prone. Indeed, he had surgery in May on his ankle and it doesn't sound like he'll be fit for the opener against Alex's beloved Spurs. For me this is a worry. He won't have any real pre-season with the squad and will be facing the task of acustomizing himself to a new style of play which is much, much quicker than the rather sub-standard Italian league. In this repsect, Aquilani will take some convincing before truly filling the gap left where Alonso's comforting mid-field assurance used to be. Having said that, there are some amazing strikes (and passes) in his YouTube repetoire. A couple of those would go a long way towards erasing Alonso from the minds of fans.