Keane to be new Kop idol, claims Liverpool legend Dalglish

Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish believes Robbie Keane will make an immediate impact at Anfield as the £20million striker prepares for his debut season wearing the club's iconic No7 jersey.

Dalglish and Kevin Keegan both won League titles in the famous shirt and the endorsement from King Kenny - regularly voted by fans as the greatest player in Liverpool's history - is a huge boost to Keane, whose partnership with Fernando Torres is seen as essential if Liverpool are to end their 19-year wait for another title.

While Rafa Benitez impatiently waits for Liverpool and Aston Villa to sort out the future of England midfielder Gareth feels the arrival of Keane has already given the club a huge lift.

Dalglish became a Kop hero when he scored six minutes into his League debut against Middlesbrough in 1977, and he would not be surprised if the Republic of Ireland captain settled in at Anfield equally quickly. Coincidentally, Keane should also make his League debut in the north-east against Sunderland on Saturday.

'Robbie is one of those players who can come in straight away and hit the ground running,' said Dalglish, who won seven League titles as a Liverpool player and led the club to the Double as a player-manager.

'He has played all his career in the Premier League with a one-year spell in Italy, so he doesn't need to take any time to settle in.

'He can make an impact from the first whistle. There is no getting used to the speed of the game or anything like that. 'All he has to do is get to know the boys and tune in to their games, where they like to make runs, where they are going to want him to run to and so on.

'He will give the manager plenty of options in the striking positions. He can play straight through the middle as a partner for shoulder to shoulder. Or you can withdraw him slightly from Fernando and play him in the hole between the strikers and midfield.

'He will be effective in either role. You only have to look at how he fitted and moulded his game around Dimitar Berbatov at Tottenham to see the potential that he and Torres have as a pairing. Berbatov scored a lot of goals from direct final passes from Keane, or from his movement and ability to create space.

'And when Keane gets into position himself in front of goal, he can finish as well as anyone.

'Torres is maybe just a step above Berbatov because he is a lot younger so you have to be licking your lips at the prospect of them being unleashed on the Premier League.'

Liverpool vice-captain Jamie Carragher believes Keane is a worthy successor to Dalglish.

'It's great to have Robbie Keane here,' he said. 'I'm probably delighted more than the rest of the lads because Robbie is one of the players who has caused me all kinds of problems down the years.

'He has this knack of getting goals against us but he also has a great allround game.

'The potential of the partnership between Keane and Torres has got the fans excited and if they click together then we really will have a front two who are up there with the best. Robbie will always weigh in with 15 or 20 goals but he is a goal creator as well as being a goalscorer.

'He plays in that position just behind the main striker but the great thing about him is that he always comes up with his fair share of goals.

'He has been brilliant for Tottenham over the last few years. He's a really special player - and that's why the manager was ready to pay £20m for him. It's a lot of money, but we have bought real quality.

'The problem I've found trying to mark Robbie is that he has the ability to play in a variety of positions.

'One minute he is playing right up at the top of the attack and trying to get behind you. Then he drops deep to find space and you don't know whether to follow him.

'Defenders like to do as little thinking as possible but with Robbie you really have to be on your game because he can drag you all over the place.

'His partnership at Spurs with Berbatov has been one of the best in the League and we're hoping he can replicate that with Torres.

'On paper, it looks like the perfect partnership.

'We've got Torres, trying to use his pace and his clever runs to get in behind defenders, while Robbie can drop deep to find space and pick teams apart with his passes. And what makes it even more dangerous is that Torres also has the ability to provide the service and Keane has the quality to get on the end of things.

'It's not the first time we've had top strikers in my time at the club. When we did the Treble we had Michael Owen, Emile Heskey and Robbie Fowler. I wouldn't want to insult them by saying Keane and Torres will be the best.

'But for a long time, Liverpool have not had anyone capable of filling the No7 shirt that means so much to this club.

'I don't like putting so much pressure on other Liverpool players but Robbie is definitely in the same mould as Keegan, Dalglish and Peter Beardsley.'