Has already begun to repay the faith shown in him by Rafa.

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I, like many others, was dubious about the amount of money Rafa spent on Portsmouth right back Glen Johnson but as it turns out it could well be the best £11m the Liverpool boss has ever spent.

Let’s face it the full back position is one that rarely grabs the headlines and never gets the plaudits it deserves but when you think about it the wide defensive position can be key both to the success of the back line as well as the potency of the club’s attacking play.

Alvaro Arbeloa was a trier a worker, but by no means the complete article when it came to his performances in a Reds jersey. His role was far more reserved and controlled with occasional glimpses of attacking prowess and hell even a good long range finish or two. His England international replacement is on the other hand an entirely different kettle of fish.

In the modern game full backs are required to be as effective going forward as they are solid and composed when coming up against the opposition’s own attacking advances. These days the attributes needed are not just the ability to swing in a good cross from the flank but also the ability to make forward runs into space and even be able to beat a man and Glen Johnson has shown in his first two competitive matches for the club that he can do just about any of these tasks with aplomb.

Given that a sizable chunk of the fee to bring the former Chelsea and West Ham man to Anfield was covered by the south-coast club’s debt to the club relating to their signing of former Liverpool man Peter Crouch, and that chunk is said to be as much as £7m, meaning that the 24 year old came at a price of a mere £11m and in the age of hugely inflated transfer fees that is a bargain.

Add to the equation that with a World Cup on the horizon Johnson will be battling as hard as ever to cement his place as England’s first choice right back. Clearly he is already a player that Fabio Capello greatly admires but in order to remain his favourite he will know he must consistently perform whilst at the club.

Obviously it’s always good to not get too carried away but at the same time it’s pleasing to see the impact the Londoner has already made in the first week of the season. He’a already finding good open spaces to receive possession in an advanced area and has already scored, assisted and won penalties whilst also firmly repelling the attackers he has come up against.

Remember too that Glen already has one Premier League title under his belt and will be all to keen to assist us into breaking this horrendous 19 year wait for the title.

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