One of the premier league's most exciting talents, Kewell was a snip in a market where West Ham's inexperienced right back Glen Johnson fetched six million pounds, even if the manner of the Australian's move from Leeds United left a sour taste.

With coveted England midfielder Steven Gerrard staying put, manager Gerard Houllier will hope his policy of continuity pays off after an unfulfilling 2002-03 season.

Despite winning the League Cup with a memorable win over Manchester United, Liverpool's league form deserted them in the second half of the campaign and they finished by missing out on the Champions League after a last-day defeat by Chelsea.

Fifth place was not good enough for a club that has won a record 18 English league titles.

England striker Michael Owen says Liverpool will approach the new season with an added sense of urgency and one goal in mind -- to win the championship for the first time since 1990.

"There is an extra significance to this season. We want to reach the top and win the league," Owen said on his club's website earlier this month.

"You don't get a million and one chances as a manager or a player to do that and we need to do it quite soon. Everyone wants this season to be the season.

"Players only have a short shelf life. I have been playing for six to seven years now and am probably halfway through my career without winning the league.

"You think it is going to be next year or maybe the one after that and, suddenly, the time has gone."

KEWELL'S ATTITUDE

Kewell's addition will certainly jazz up a Liverpool side that has been accused of negative tactics in the past.

Houllier's early impressions are positive.

"He is already doing the unexpected and unpredictable on the field, which is what I like," the Frenchman said. "I am also pleased with the man's attitude as I pay attention to the character and mentality of people.

"He is a strong-willed person who mixes well with others which is good."

But whether Kewell proves the solution to Liverpool's lack of width and crossing ability depends on where Houllier plays the Australian, who usually roams between the left flank and a central attacking role.

In pre-season Liverpool have played left-footed Kewell out of position on the right, with only partial success.

Also key to their chances will be whether the Australian international can forge a link with Owen and Czech striker Milan Baros, and how Kewell's arrival affects Senegal forward El Hadji Diouf.

Diouf also favours a similar wandering brief between wing and attack but failed to reproduce his international form last season, despite a prodigious work rate.

Defensively, the arrival of full back Steve Finnan from Fulham should give Liverpool more of an attacking threat down the right on the overlap.

They will start as one of the favourites for the UEFA Cup, having reached the quarter-finals last season after dropping out of the Champions League following the first group stage.

But it is Champions League football that the club's players, supporters and accountants really crave and that means the premier league has to be the number one priority.