Liverpool icon Tommy Smith has welcomed the arrival of Stewart Downing.
The former Aston Villa winger has received a mixed reception from Reds fans.
But Smith told the liverpoolfc.tv: "It's something I've been going on about for a long time because we've needed wingers desperately.
"I'm delighted we've got Downing. He impressed me when I saw him last season and he was certainly Villa's best player.
"He creates and scores goals, and the fact he's forced his way into the England set-up shows how much he has improved.
"When you look around there aren't many top wingers in the Premier League so they aren't cheap to pick up. But if I could have picked any of them to sign for Liverpool it would have been him.
"We paid a lot of money for Andy Carroll but we didn't get to see much of him last season due to injuries. When he did play the one thing he was missing was decent service from the flanks.
"Downing will get to the byline and put balls into the box for Carroll to attack. I'm sure Downing will help to improve Carroll's game."