Kenny Dalglish: Andy Carroll is worth the money

LIVERPOOL, England (AP): Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish criticized the negative reaction to the club's purchase of Andy Carroll, predicting Thursday that the striker will live up to the tag of being the eighth most expensive player in football history.

Eyebrows were raised across the sport with Liverpool's 35 million pound ($56 million) signing of Carroll, who has played just 41 times in the Premier League and once for England.

Established international stars such as David Villa, Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko have moved clubs for less.

Dalglish, however, said he is confident the 22-year-old striker, who joined on Monday from Newcastle and wouldn't be recognized in many countries outside England, will prove his worth.

"The price might be a bit more than what some people think it should be but every single person has got to justify their wages and their costs," Dalglish said. "I'm sure he can do that for us.

"I'd like to reassure Andy we are more upbeat about Andy coming than I think yourselves (the media) are, because every question seems to have negativity in it. We don't see any reason whatsoever to be negative in any way shape or form."

Carroll, who was officially presented as a Liverpool player on Thursday along with Luis Suarez, is currently out with thigh injury and isn't expected to return to action for another two or three weeks.

When he does make his debut, Carroll said he will not be daunted by the price tag and by taking over the No. 9 jersey left by Fernando Torres, who moved to Chelsea on Monday for a British-record fee of 50 million pounds ($81 million).

"It was a lot of money but I'm sure I can do what I need to do to prove the money was worth it," Carroll said. "I'm here to score goals and create chances for the team, and that's what I can do.

"Time will tell. Obviously Torres was a great player but I need to concentrate on my own game and play my football."

Suarez made his debut for Liverpool on Wednesday, coming off the bench to score the second goal in the team's 2-0 win over Stoke at Anfield.