Legendary Anfield No.9s Robbie Fowler and Ian Rush have tipped the current incumbent, summer signing Iago Aspas, to thrive for Liverpool in the seasons to come.

Speaking in front of an audience of close to a thousand fans at a BIGREDS Supporters' Club event in central Jakarta, the Reds legends - who both wore the number nine shirt with distinction during their time at Liverpool - insisted Aspas has all the qualities to do the shirt proud.

"Liverpool have a long tradition of great strikers wearing that shirt," claimed Fowler, "and the weight of expectation that comes with it can either be a burden for a new player or can act as a real motivating force to score goals. Brendan has shown his confidence in Iago by handing him the shirt and the early signs look very promising. He had a great goalscoring record in Spain and if he can transfer that form into the Premier League then we could have some player on our hands."

Aspas made his debut as a goalscoring second-half substitute against Preston last weekend but for Rush, who joined Fowler and Didi Hamann at the fans' event, it wasn't just his goal that impressed. "I liked his movement a lot," he enthused. "To get the first goal of his Liverpool career will have been great for him and to score it on his debut will have made it all the more special. However, I was really impressed with the positions he was taking up on the pitch and his movement in and around the area. He'll still need some time to adjust to his new team-mates and the way the game is played in England but I have high hopes he will turn out to be a very astute signing by Brendan Rodgers for Liverpool Football Club."