Wednesday 9 September 2015 15:16, UK
Graeme Souness thinks Christian Benteke has the potential to be a "superstar" and could hold the key to Liverpool's success this season.
After signing for £32.5m from Aston Villa in the summer, Benteke has started all four Premier League matches so far, scoring once against Bournemouth.
He is set to lead the line again on Saturday Night Football as Liverpool face rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford and former Reds midfielder Souness believes the Belgian could prove to be a vital part of the team this season.
"He has the potential to be an absolute star," Souness told Sky Sports. "If he's fully fired up and motivated, he could take the Premier League by storm and be a superstar at Liverpool.
"But if you have a Benteke who picks and chooses when he plays well then it might not be good enough. A lot of Liverpool's success this season will rely on Benteke."
Benteke did not muster a shot on target as Liverpool suffered a shock 3-0 home defeat to West Ham in their last outing before the international break.
Following their trip to Old Trafford they start their Europa League campaign against Bordeaux and Souness is wary of the effect trips around the continent could have on the team.
"It's not helpful for the Premier League campaign," he said. "Playing on a Thursday night, then arriving back in the middle of Friday morning to play on a Sunday. You are playing catch up all the time.
For me it is still the biggest game in English football. You're made aware of the rivalry between the two cities and not just the football clubs.
"Sometimes you're playing on a Sunday knowing the teams around you won on the Saturday and you know you have to win to keep with them."
During his six years with Liverpool, Souness made more than 350 appearances, scored 55 goals and won the European Cup on three occasions.
Asked about the rivalry against Manchester United, he said: "For me it is still the biggest game in English football. You're made aware of the rivalry between the two cities and not just the football clubs.
"Going back to when I was a player, we were the No 1 team but they always had very good players, nearly as good as what we had, but for some reason they could never gel as a team. That's all changed in the last 26 or 27 years.
"My best game against them was my very first one. We were at Anfield and won 3-1, and I scored my first goal for Liverpool that day, after maybe three or four games. We never had an easy game against them, even if we were top of the league and they were fifth or sixth, it was never straightforward."
