Charlie Adam became a target for Liverpool as soon as he started showing his potential at Blackpool, although the Reds faced stiff competition from other Premier League clubs in the race for his signature.

The Anfield outfit chiefs unsuccessfully tried to sign the Scot in January, but following the long negotiations with Blackpool, the player finally arrived to Liverpool this summer.

Liverpool fans then had to wait some more for the pre-season to start in order to see the midfielder in action, but after he made his debut in the friendly win over Gungdong, all the doubts they might have had regarding the player’s ability are likely to have disappeared.

Adam was introduced as a second-half substitute, taking up holding midfield role alongside youngster Conor Coady and he didn’t take a lot of time to impress the Liverpool faithful.

The Scot produced some excellent passes for Kuyt and Rodriguez, while looking very comfortable on the ball, giving Kenny Dalglish plenty of reason for optimism.

He reminded me a bit of Xabi Alonso, the man who was integral to club’s push for Champions League title and the player who the Reds have sorely missed over the years.

Even though the pre-season has just started, it looks as though Charlie Adam will be considered an important part of Kenny Dalglish’s starting line-up, so I see a great value in odds of 4.50 (7/2) offered by Victor Chandler on Adam to make 30 or more Premier League appearances next season.