Johnny Phillips blog: There are no clues to the power, pace and energy of Alberto Moreno when you meet him

If Alberto Moreno’s slip up on his debut at Manchester City had worried him at all, following his summer move from Sevilla to Liverpool, then the Spaniard wasted little time in lifting any concerns he may have had with that wonder goal at White Hart Lane the following weekend.

The goal at Spurs helped him bed in with a bit more confidence, but Moreno was eager to point out that he has been made very welcome since his £12 million move to Anfield.

“I think the goal is something to be put to the side now. Irrespective of whether I scored or not I have settled in really well here,” he explained. “Everyone at the club; the staff, the management team, the head coach himself and the other players have made me feel right at home from the moment that I arrived. That in itself has helped to fill me with a lot of confidence.”

There are no clues to the power, pace and energy of the player on the pitch when coming face to face with him for an interview.

There are no clues to the power, pace and energy of the player on the pitch when coming face to face with him for an interview. A friendly and slightly self-conscious presence when we met up at Melwood this week, Moreno immediately apologised for not having good enough English to conduct the interview without a translator. Not a problem, he’s been in the country a matter of weeks, I’m sure he’s had other things to worry about.

The 22-year-old has been struck by the warmth of his welcome on Merseyside. He is the latest in a long line of Spanish players who have arrived at Anfield since Rafa Benitez’s time here. In fact, Xabi Alonso spoke with him before the move and encouraged him to take the opportunity to come to England.

“It really helps to have some fellow Spaniards on the books as well,” he added. “Guys like Suso, Javi Manquillo and Luis Enrique have all helped me because although I’m trying with my English, it’s a slow process so they are on hand to translate for me all the time."

Beefing up

The full-back positions were immediately identified as an important area for strengthening during the summer. The manager wasted little time beefing up both flanks, with Manquillo also arriving from Spain on a two season loan from Atletico Madrid. Moreno believes his own game can benefit from the switch to England.

“Brendan Rodgers sat down with me before I signed and told me it will be a great league for me to play in and one in which I’ll grow as a footballer, and I’ll learn and improve while I’m here, which is something I want to do.”

Rodgers will need his summer acquisitions to come off. Liverpool are serious title challengers again but also have the added bonus - or complication, depending on your outlook - of the Champions League. Moreno has joined an upwardly mobile club expected to build on their fantastic 2013/14 season.

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“I think that personally I just want to play and feature in as many games as I can, and by doing that I will hopefully prove myself to the fans, players and manager and gain their confidence. I hope that I can put some trophies in the cabinet too. I think we have the squad to do that with lots of young players who have a really good work ethic.

“Everyone wants to work hard. Who knows, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s try and get as high as we can in the league to be involved in the race at the end of the season, and in the Champions league, there’s no reason why we can’t progress in that too.”

You can see the rest of our interview with Alberto Moreno on Soccer Saturday from midday.