GIVEN how much I banged on about Liverpool lacking match-winners last season, I wouldn’t have thought spending £17million on a right-back would have been the solution to their problems.

But when that right-back is Glen Johnson I happen to think it could be a very sound investment.

Because Johnson is a match-winner. The last time I saw him play was at the end of the campaign when England played Andorra and he set up four of the goals.

Now I appreciate the opposition was worse than second rate but it was a performance that summed up what the player is all about.

He gets forward and causes defenders problems – gives them something extra to worry about in their own third of the field – and has the accuracy in his delivery to create goal-scoring opportunities.

And that will be absolutely vital to Liverpool in their attempts to break teams down next season.

This is, of course, only going to come true if Johnson actually plays to the best of his ability but I can’t see any reason why he won’t.

His confidence should be sky high after a season in which he has made himself England’s first-choice right-back.

Ahead of the World Cup next summer, it is his shirt to lose now, and that’s a great incentive to take into next season – he should be flying by the time he finally takes to the field in the red of Liverpool.