Rafa : I always wanted Liverpool to be wide boys

Liverpool Boss Rafael Benitez has expressed his delight at completing the signings of wing backs Philipp Degen and Andrea Dossena.

Degen and Dossena signed to cover the right and left flanks respectively, to add an attacking threat from the wide areas - an area Rafa says Liverpool have been lacking in.

"I think everyone was thinking the same as us, that we needed to improve in the wide areas, We have the spine of the team with Torres, Gerrard, Mascherano and all these players that we know.

"In the wide areas maybe we needed something different so we were looking for full-backs with an offensive mentality. " 

"Dossena likes to play football, and Degen is the same, he goes forward with quality. So we now have two players who can go forward and they will compete for their positions and hopefully it will be good for the team."

Benitez was also quick to point out that although Degen was a free transfer; this does not mean he can't go on to be a success at Anfield : "Sometimes it is not about how much money you spend but getting the players you need," he continued.
 
"We needed full-backs with different qualities and these two players could be good for us. Afterwards maybe you can sign big names and maybe people will be happy, but the priority is to sign the players that you want and need - in this case two full-backs who can give something more to the team."