Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is confident Alberto Aquilani will prove well worth the money when he starts playing.
Although the Liverpool boss is facing more questions about his side's ability to sustain a serious title challenge after a third Premier League defeat - already more than in the whole of last season - he will not press Aquilani into action ahead of schedule.
But it seems the Italian could make his first appearance in the Carling Cup fourth round tie at Arsenal on October 28.
"We knew he had the problem but we knew we were signing the player for five years and not five weeks," he said.
"We will see if he can improve. Clearly he is a player with quality we are desperate to see on the pitch but we will not push him too much.
"He has to go one step at a time and see how he progresses."
