State of the union ...

All the last-minute deals have been hashed out. The dust has settled. And, as a result, the English Premier League looks drastically different. In what may go down as the most frantic deadline day of a January (or any) transfer window, deals worth tens of millions of pounds were finalised with minutes to spare on January 31, star players were bought and sold, and, even more shocking, club “legends” finally walked away. Club record transfer fees were broken, and rebroken. An exciting day to end what has been a January transfer window on steroids. Here’s the view from the Kop:

Liverpool's first signing of the day was somewhat of a given, having agreed a fee a few days prior, that of Luis Suarez, a prolific Uruguayan striker and back-up goalkeeper. Suarez is a tricky, devious forward, with pace, skill and a cunning eye to finish. The perfect complement for almost any striker, Suarez’s exploits have been most widely viewed in his fruitful partnership with fellow countryman Diego Forlan in this summer’s World Cup, scoring three goals and almost single-handedly guiding Uruguay to the semi-finals. Furthermore, Suarez’s track record for his former club Ajax in the Dutch League is equally impressive. Over the past two-and-a-half seasons at Ajax, Suarez has viciously bit into Dutch defences scoring an astounding 49 goals in last season alone. Suarez looked fit to establish a devastating duo with Liverpool’s Fernando Torres; but, shortly after his transfer fee was agreed, other news came about ...

Chelsea had put in a bid for Fernando Torres. “Pssh! Rubbish!” was my initial reaction; but, within hours, Torres had made his wishes clear and handed in a transfer request. At first it was denial, fear, bargaining then acceptance, and when serious negotiations began this morning, it was all but inevitable, Torres was leaving. But, all was not lost. In fact, far from it. Liverpool had no wishes to dispose of Torres, so, if they were going to do so, it would not come cheaply. £50 million was the price agreed for Torres, and now he belongs to Chelsea.

It is hard for me to know exactly how to feel about this situation; for, though I hate to see a player of his quality leave the club, I can understand why. Torres has played through three and a half years of trophy-less football, and now he has been stripped of his beloved Champions League competition, the reason that he left Atletico for Liverpool in the first place. This time last year, Torres called on then-owners Hicks and Gillett to fund the transfer of either David Silva or David Villa. Neither of which happened; and, as a result, Torres is left to scrap for service off of the bones of through balls left by players like Lucas ... I mean really, I might be better than him. Torres may have both endeared himself to and then betrayed the Kop; but, to remove all emotions from this move, I look at it like this: We have a quality player who is not playing his best and wants to leave. Ok, how much can we get for him? £50 million. Agreed. After all, football is still a business.

And speaking of business, this brings me to the massive story of the day: Andy Carroll signs for Liverpool. Carroll, a 6’5” strong athletic forward, similar to former-Red Peter Crouch, only better in every department. This season, with Newcastle’s promotion to the Premier League, Carroll has shown his quality, got rowdy and slapped in 11 goals thus far (2 more than Torres in 5 fewer starts ... just saying). Carroll can utilize his height to lethal ability or use his feet (as shown against Liverpool earlier in the season). Entering Anfield with a hefty £35 million pricetag, the 22 year-old Carroll faces enormous expectations and big boots to fill in his time to come, but as he has already adapted to the Premier League and made his England debut, perhaps this is his first step to a gilded career.

And here’s my verdict:

Suarez was an intelligent signing. At £22.7 million, he was not cheap, but Suarez has dominated the Dutch League and proven he can score at the highest level of football during the World Cup. His style suits himself for a fortuitous partnership with any forward in the game, but he can put the ball in the back of the net as well. Doubters of whether Suarez’s Ajax prowess can translate to the Premier League, I guarantee you this: by the end of the season, Luis Suarez will have scored more Premier League goals than the likes of Manchester City’s prized £27 million January signing, Edin Dzeko. You heard it here first.

Second: It was the right thing to do to sell Torres. Torres was unhappy, wanted to leave, and, to be brutally honest, had not nearly played his best for Liverpool this season. Torres’ current slump in form, as well as during the World Cup, was due to injury. Torres’ was rushed back far too early this summer to play for Spain in the World Cup, struggled for form and got injured again in the final. Though the striker has started to take significant steps back toward his highest ability (braces against Chelsea, Wolves), a constant flow of goals nor his fitness is guaranteed to be available for the season’s remainder, and I just have this awful feeling that one more serious injury will severely dampen his overall long term quality. Lastly, I have long ago accepted that Torres would not be ending his career at Anfield; therefore, with all the aforementioned factors in mind, £50 million would most likely not come by again.

Third: Andy Carroll can be, and I sincerely believe will be, a revelation for Liverpool. Yes, £35 million is clearly overpriced for a player that has only played half a season in the Premier League, and yes he is unlikely to be sold for that amount again. But the crucial element to the signing is that Liverpool do not hope to resell him. Kenny Dalglish’s plans for Carroll do not include making him into a name like Torres, but rather one like Rush, Keegan, or, dare I say it, Dalglish. Andy Carroll’s future at Liverpool is long term and, though I hate to draw parallels with this club, seems to mirror Manchester United’s signing of Wayne Rooney for £30 million when he was young and unproven. Doubters of Andy Carroll, here’s call number two: by the end of the season, Andy Carroll will have scored more Premier League goals than Fernando Torres.

Fourth: The deadline day signings demonstrate good vision for the club. Since the takeover and arrival of NESV, it was largely unknown as to how Liverpool’s new owners would do their business. In the day of bargaining that went down on January 31, I felt that John W. Henry and Tom Werner showed ambition and a ‘big-club’ mentality, both characteristics that were invariably absent from the Hicks & Gillett regime. NESV put the investment in the squad that has been direly needed and duly called for by the likes of Pepe Reina, Roy Hodgson and (you guessed it) Fernando Torres through the signing of Luis Suarez. A good, quality signing. Then, when it was clear Torres was gone, and that there was £50 million to spend, I felt that Liverpool acted like a big club again, and greatly admired the approach of “pick your player, not your price” that Henry greenlit to Dalglish. Carroll may be overpriced, but Liverpool showed its weight as a club by not budging from its first choice player. I felt it odd to watch Tottenham constantly bidding outrageous sums for numerous players all day (Aguero, Llorente, Rossi, Forlan, Carroll, Adam) and constantly getting turned down. I think a big club makes a decision and stays with it, otherwise, top players and their clubs will not take you seriously. I find little integrity in the wayward bidding of outlandish sums, and here’s my call number 3: Liverpool, currently sitting in 7^th will finish ahead of Tottenham. There may be a six point gap at the moment, but don’t say I didn’t tell you so when it happens in May ... LW