Soccer: Liverpool's record signing Andy Carroll is confident he can score the goals which will bring silverware back to Anfield. The 22-year-old completed a shock club-record €41 million transfer from Newcastle yesterday after Fernando Torres was sold to Chelsea for €58 million.

Carroll has inherited the Spain international’s number nine shirt, worn by other Liverpool greats like Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler, and he believes he is equipped to follow in their illustrious footsteps.

“Goals have always been in my game so I’m very confident I can score for Liverpool,” he said. “It’s a great feeling. The number nine is a big number and the one I wanted. To get it at Liverpool is a great feeling.

“I want to go out there and play the football that has brought me here. I’ll bring as much as I can to the team — I’ll score goals, create chances, hold up the ball and just try my best really. They have spent a lot of money on getting me here and I just want to repay them for what they have spent.

“I’ll do my best and think I can do it. I want to win trophies with this club and help push us forward.”

Liverpool have not won a trophy since the FA Cup in 2006 and their fortunes have been on the wane over the last 18 months, with the club finishing a disappointing seventh in the Barclays Premier League last season.

The start to the current campaign was the worst since 1953 and resulted in the departure of Roy Hodgson after just six months in charge.

Since Kenny Dalglish took over performances have improved and the investment in Carroll and Uruguay forward Luis Suarez, who completed his €26 million move from Ajax yesterday, has ensured the departure of Torres has not affected the improving mood within the club.

Carroll admits he was as surprised as anyone about how quickly his move from his home town club developed but he is keen to seize the opportunity.

“It’s massive. Liverpool is a big club which is going places and this is a chance to show what I can do,” he added. “What I did at Newcastle has got me here and now I have to carry it on with Liverpool.”

Dalglish is looking forward to working with a player who has the potential to become England’s first-choice striker in the next few years, having made his international debut in November.

“This is a great opportunity for him. He was in the England squad last year and did very well,” said the Reds boss. “I know Newcastle will be deeply hurt to lose him but it’s a great signing for us. He’s just a young boy with a fantastic talent. He’s a big lad but is very good on the deck as well, he has good feet, he’s very strong in the air and he’ll give us a bit of presence up front.

“He’s a little bit different to what we’ve been used to but it won’t change our principles and philosophies of how we want to play.”

Dalglish will not be able to call on Carroll for a while yet as he is recovering from a thigh problem which has already sidelined him for a month. However, the Scot insists the striker was not bought as a short-term fix.

“At the moment he’s got a bit of a knock and is probably a few weeks away from playing, but the signing wasn’t made to cover a few weeks,” he added. “He signed for five-and-a-half years and there’s a lot of weeks in that time when he’ll be fit and playing for us.”

The club’s other deadline-day signing, Suarez, could feature against Stoke at Anfield tomorrow if his work permit and international clearance come through in time.

Dalglish is equally excited about integrating the 24-year-old — scorer of 111 goals in 159 matches for Ajax — into his team.

“He’s someone who has been on the radar here for a long time and someone who was brought in to really enhance the squad,” he said. “He’s got a fantastic goalscoring record. For a Uruguayan to go to Ajax and become club captain speaks volumes for him as a person.”

Having seen Torres depart to Chelsea, claiming today on his personal website that “since last summer I’ve felt I needed to move my career forward and to meet my ambitions”, Dalglish is pleased to have two players who are eager to help the club improve.

“A very important factor for us is that both players wanted to come here,” said the 59-year-old. “Liverpool was their first choice. Certainly in Luis’ case he had other options but he chose here for the right reasons. That’s a fantastic accolade to the football club, to the supporters, the owners and everyone connected with it.”