Carragher was so concerned about Torres’ adaptation He came up with a great idea

He was only four, didn’t have a clue’: How Carragher’s little son helped Fernando Torres settle at Liverpool

“I was desperate for the team to do well. I tried to help people, especially early on when they’d just signed,” Jamie Carragher said in the book Ring of Fire.

“The example is Fernando Torres. At first, I thought, God, I’m not getting much out of this one. He didn’t say a word to anyone and was struggling in training for the first week.

“So I bought my son a kit with Torres’s name on the back. I brought James into Melwood to try to make Torres feel a bit better. James was only four years old and didn’t have a clue.

“Torres obviously proved himself as a very good player but I thought he needed a lift, so I did what I could. The club made a huge investment in him. I cared about the club but most of all I wanted Torres to score the goals that would win us games.”

The move eventually paid off: Torres spent four seasons at Liverpool, registering 81 goals and 20 assists in 142 games across all competitions. More importantly, he was a fans’ favourite and even his move to Chelsea didn’t change much about it.

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