Liverpool: Brendan Rodgers confident Christian Benteke will prove to be a bargain

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insists that summer signing Christian Benteke will prove to be a bargain acquisition despite the club spending over £30m ($46.8m) to bring him to Anfield from Aston Villa.

The Reds triggered the striker's release clause, which was set at £32.5m ($50.7m) to sign him, but former player Jamie Carragher was not sure if he would suit Liverpool's short and sharp style of play.

The Northern Irishman had made signing a striker a priority this summer, and is confident that the Belgian forward will suit the club's style of play and has admitted that the forward has exceeded his expectations with regards to his ability and quickness of his feet.

Benteke is yet to make his debut for the Merseyside club and was not named in the Liverpool squad that travelled to Helsinki to face HJK on Saturday, 1 August.

"I've read and seen things about his game, but in the short period of time he's been in, I've been even more impressed," Rodgers is quoted as saying by the Liverpool Echo.

"I've seen him up close now for three years, stood at the side of the field and watching this guy – not just his power and strength, but also his footballing ability."

"He's surprised people in the early stages of life at Liverpool with that mobility and the quickness of his feet – and his natural power and strength is there to see. One of the goals I remember he scored against us at Anfield, he ran halfway through the field," the Reds' manager explained.

"This isn't someone who lacks pace, movement and intelligence. He's not just a guy who you chuck the ball up to. Of course, his strength allows you to keep the ball, but he'll really help the unpredictability of our game this season."

"For me, I think he'll prove to be a bargain for the club, I really do," he added.

The former Swansea City manager believes that Benteke will add another dimension to Liverpool's style of play and is confident that apart from scoring goals, his power and presence in the box will assist the rest of his teammates also to find the back of the net.

"We know he can play football, we know he can play counter-attack, but we also know when we cross the ball, we've got a real presence in the box that is going to allow us to keep the ball in the box for periods of time and for others to get goals from."

"Obviously he doesn't set the price and I'm thankful the club have brought him in because I really think at 24 years of age, he's going to be a huge asset for us," Rodgers concluded.