Liverpool recently completed the signing of Christian Benteke from Aston Villa, but many have expressed their doubts about the success of the Belgian at Anfield.

He becomes the second most expensive player in Liverpool’s history after having cost £ 32.5 million. He is only behind Andy Carroll, who was a signing from Newcastle United. The disastrous transfer involving Carroll has been well-documented and many see Benteke as a similar player to Carroll. The comparisons may largely come about due to the physical stature of the two players, but manager Brendan Rodgers believes that Benteke has enough qualities to be a success at Liverpool.

Immediately upon becoming the new Liverpool manager more than three years ago, Rodgers decided to spend the club record signing Carroll on loan to West Ham. Carroll did not appear to have a future at Liverpool, who were set to play football on the ground. The philosophy has not changed in the last three years. Hence, the reasoning behind Rodgers signing another physical player does not appear to be clear. Benteke was one of the top strikers in the second half of last season. His goals were a major reason behind Aston Villa staying in the Premier League.

“There’s a number of qualities that he has and he will only improve in his time at the club. I think first and foremost his goals, if you look at his goals record since the time that he’s been in the Premier League he’s up there with the best in terms of numbers. So that was very important for us.Obviously I’ve heard and I’ve seen stuff about the style, ‘he won’t fit the style of how we play’ – I think he’ll only complement it and help us. He’s a big guy but he’s got the attributes that I like in terms of pace and movement,” said Rodgers.