Since the Premier League's inception in 1992, Liverpool have never been reluctant to spend money. Brendan Rodgers spent over £100m during the most recent summer transfer window, while the likes of Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez also broke the bank during their time in charge. Between them and fellow Reds managers during the Premier League era Graeme Souness, Roy Evans, Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish, they have signed many players for hefty fees, some of whom have been roaring successes and others who have failed spectacularly. On the flip side, there are those players who have ended up being signed on the cheap, certainly in terms of their respective ability, before becoming Reds heroes and, in a few cases, legends. With that in mind, here are the 11 Liverpool Premier League Signings Who Proved To Be Bargains.
11. Martin Skrtel
Martin Skrtel joined Liverpool from Zenit St Petersburg for £6.5m in January 2008, and was relatively unknown to those who didn't claim to know everything about every league across Europe. In the almost seven years since, the 29-year-old has been a very fine servant to the club. Things didn't start too promisingly, however. His debut against Aston Villa was nervy, while five days later he scored an own goal in the FA Cup against minnows Havant & Waterlooville. After an understandably shaky start to life at such a big club, things improved for the Slovakian, and he has been solid ever since. In his early years at Anfield he often found himself vying for a starting berth with Daniel Agger and Sami Hyypia- Jamie Carragher was the undisputed first-choice centre-back at the time- and he was often selected in big games by Rafa Benitez. Once Hyypia had retired, and age started to catch up with Carragher, Skrtel became virtually an ever-present in the side between 2010 and 2012. Although he fell out with Brendan Rodgers at one point, and briefly lost his place in the team following some poor form, he roared back last season, scoring seven times and proving to be Liverpool's standout defender as they finished second in the Premier League. Despite the presence of Dejan Lovren and Mamadou Sakho in the current squad, Skrtel is arguably still the Reds' best defender, even though he's not perfect at times. Signing him for the fee they did has proved to be excellent business by Liverpool.
