Maxi the man for Benitez

Rafael Benitez has made his first move to bolster the Liverpool squad in an attempt to improve his side's fortune on the pitch by capturing the signature of Argentina International Maxi Rodriguez from Atletico Madrid on a free transfer. Maxi's contract at Atletico was due to expire in the Summer, and as he had fallen out of favour with the Spanish giants, he was seeking to gain some regular first team action with the World Cup Finals just 147 days away.

Maxi has signed a 3-and-a-half year deal at Anfield, and could make his debut this weekend against Stoke. The winger, who is also capable of playing through the middle, introduced himself to the Anfield faithful before kickoff in last night's FA Cup third round replay against Reading. The bad news was the he actually had to watch that miserable excuse of a performance from his new teammates.

Rafael Benitez gave us an inkling of what we're in for:

"We were looking for players with character and a good mentality... He is comfortable on the ball, can pass and keep possession. He is good at getting into the box and scoring goals and is a good finisher... I think he will adapt to English Football because he is a clever player and takes up good positions on the pitch."

 Sounds like a decent purchase then for Rafa, and he'll certainly be hoping that Maxi can adapt to the pace of the English game as soon as possible. Liverpool's season continues to go from bad to worse, and now with only the Europa League to challenge for, the chance of any success this year is fast running out.