Midfielder Alberto Aquilani's medical later today could prove to be a pivotal point in his career and Liverpool's future.

Manager Rafael Benitez has identified the Italy international as the ideal replacement for Xabi Alonso, who completed his £30million move to Real Madrid yesterday.

Liverpool and Roma have already agreed a fee, believed to be in the region of £20million, but the 25-year-old must now pass the physical examination.

That will not be as straightforward as it might as the player, who made only 14 league appearances last season, has not played since Roma crashed out of the Champions League against Arsenal on March 11.

He underwent surgery on his right ankle in May but must prove he is over the injury if Liverpool are to justify spending two-thirds of their income from the Alonso deal.

"Alberto is a very good player and I'm delighted we've reached agreement with Roma for his transfer," said Benitez, who has been an admirer of the player for some time.

"Alberto has a winning mentality and great experience in both Serie A and the Champions League.

He has long been recognised as a top-class talent in Italy, captaining his country at both Under-19 and Under-21 levels before establishing himself in the senior national side."

The Aquilani purchase and Alonso sale have been running in tandem for some weeks.

Once the Alonso deal was completed, and the first instalment of the fee banked, Liverpool were able to finalise the deal for Aquilani.

Benitez revealed he had harboured hopes of keeping Alonso out of the clutches of Real even though the player told him two months ago he wanted to leave.

"We would have liked to have kept him but as soon as he told us that he wanted to leave we started working, looking for players and trying to do the best deal for the club," said the Reds boss.

"It has been too long, since May, that he told us he wanted to leave and after the official transfer request we were working very hard.

"The first idea was to keep him, and the second one was to find the best price and the best replacement for us."

Alonso yesterday passed his medical and signed a five-year deal with Real.

The 27-year-old is Madrid's eighth and final summer signing, taking their spending to more than £220million in just two months.