Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has revealed he tried to sign David Ngog when he was in charge of Fulham.
The 21-year-old has netted four goals in three first-team appearances so far this term, including a thunderous finish in Sunday's Barclays Premier League opener with Arsenal at Anfield.
Hodgson told liverpoolfc.tv: "I wouldn't say he has surprised me. He is performing pretty much in the way I thought he could and should perform.
"In terms of judgement of front players, there's often a dual judgement - the judgement of the coach and the players who appreciate what he's doing, but if he's not scoring goals that won't be appreciated by other people such as fans and the mass media.
"I tried to loan him when I was at Fulham, but we were not allowed to because Liverpool didn't want to loan him out.
"We ended up taking Stefano Okaka from Roma, but when we were looking for some help up front we enquired about David Ngog and were told he wasn't available.
"So obviously I've always had some consideration for him."
