Rafael Benitez believes Liverpool Football Club could have landed a bargain in Alberto Aquilani.

The Reds paid Roma £20million for the Italian international in the summer, shortly after they lost Spaniard Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid in a £30million deal.

Aquilani has only recently linked up with the first team due to an ankle injury, but Benitez feels the player will prove to be a bargain when he is fully fit and firing.

"Aquilani fit would be £20-30 million,” he told The Times. “We have lost some time, but I signed the player for five years, not five weeks. We needed to take the risk."

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