Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has likened the capture of Robbie Keane compared to the deal for ex-captain Gary McAllister.

"As soon as we heard of the interest in Robbie, those of us who know him wanted the deal to happen," Gerrard told liverpoolfc.tv.

"We know what he can add to the side and, alongside Fernando Torres, we feel we've a strikeforce to rival any in the Premier League.

"A lot of Liverpool fans see similarities to when we signed Gary McAllister in 2000. You'd hear people say how we should have signed him years ago.

"The same applies with Robbie. He probably should have been here five or six years earlier."