Comolli: Jose Enrique one of the best

Director of Football Damien Comolli chats to Liverpoolfc.tv about the signing of Jose Enrique, why he believes the defender is one of the league's best and the possibility of any further comings or goings at Anfield this summer.

Damien, Jose Enrique is now a Liverpool player - how pleased are you?

I am very pleased because it was an area we felt we needed to strengthen - we were a bit weak and felt we had to do something. I am very pleased to have signed arguably one of the best left-backs in the Premier League.

What sort of qualities will he bring to the team?

The first thing that comes to my mind is his pace. He is a very quick, strong and powerful athlete with good technique, as you would expect from someone who comes from Spain, and a good left foot. He will give us some size as well because he is about 6ft 1ins, which is a very good size for a full-back. So all of this and signing a player that is already in the Premier League means we know he will settle in very easily. He is good friends with Andy (Carroll) from their Newcastle days, so he ticks a lot of boxes.

How important is it that he has already played for four years in England?

It's very important. Very, very important. As I said, he knows Andy, he knows Pepe (Reina) from Spain as they used to play at the same club, Villarreal, although not at the same time. But most importantly, he knows the league and what to expect - and what to expect when you play for Liverpool Football Club. We know he is going to come in and hit the ground running.

Jose is only 25 years old - are you confident he will improve at Liverpool?

That's a discussion I've just had with him. I think one of the reasons he wanted to move here is because he thinks there is a lot more to come from him. We all think that - Kenny, myself and the coaches all think exactly the same thing. We think if he does well here, he could be a candidate for the Spanish national team as well. He is very eager for that and he is as eager as we are to play in Europe and compete for trophies.

from Liverpoolfc.tv