Jermaine Pennant has revealed why former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres was so special when he played for the club outlining his three greatest abilities on the pitch.
Jermaine Pennant’s spell at Liverpool during the late ‘00s was not the most memorable. He got off to a good start, but became less significant as time went on, eventually joining Portsmouth on loan after two and a half seasons.
Following this short-term move, he was not offered a new contract at Liverpool, resulting in a permanent sale to Real Zaragoza. While Pennant’s time at Anfield was fairly short lived, it provided him with memories which will last a lifetime, including being able to play alongside Fernando Torres.
The Spanish striker was a special talent at Liverpool, bagging 81 goals and 19 assists in 142 appearances.
Pennant has heaped praise on Torres for how quickly he adapted to the Premier League, because not every top player can hack it in the English top flight.
“He [Torres] was something else,” Pennant told GOAL. “He just burst onto the scene, didn’t he?
“You didn’t know how someone was going to take to the Premier League. We’ve seen a lot of legends come here and just don’t hack it. But something about him and Liverpool just worked.”
The retired winger was particularly impressed by Torres’ connection with his former captain Steven Gerrard.
Pennant believes the way they combined put them in a league of their own and this was aided by three of the striker’s most impressive traits.
He continued: “The relationship that he had with Stevie G, the little partnership that they developed was next level. His raw pace, his ability to score, his finishing.
“El Nino, he was a daddy man.”
It was truly a sad day in Liverpool when Torres made a £50m switch to Chelsea, a move which broke the record fee for a British transfer at the time.
The centre forward never really reached the heights of his Liverpool career in London and Andy Carroll, who was signed as Torres’ replacement, did not have much joy at Anfield.
Despite this, Torres is remembered as a phenomenal player at Liverpool and he has clearly made a lasting impression on his former teammates.
