RAFAEL BENITEZ instantly filled the hole left by Xabi Alonso at Liverpool yesterday when he agreed a €23.5 million fee with AS Roma for their midfield playmaker Alberto Aquilani.

As soon as Alonso signed a four-year contract worth €4.5 million a year after tax with Real Madrid then Liverpool announced they had struck a deal for his replacement. Aquilani has agreed a five-year contract worth €100,000 a week, with the move dependent on a medical on Merseyside today.

The 25-year-old has been hampered by injury at Roma and made his last appearance for the club in their Champions League defeat by Arsenal in March. A gifted, attack-minded midfielder, Aquilani made only 14 appearances in Serie A last season and is still recovering from an operation on his right ankle in May. He is not expected to be fit for the start of the new Premier League season, which begins for Liverpool at White Hart Lane on August 16th, and Benitez will have to be convinced of the Italian’s fitness to complete the transfer.

“Alberto is a very good player and I’m delighted we’ve reached agreement with Roma for his transfer,” said Benitez. “Alberto has a winning mentality and great experience in both Serie A and the Champions League. He has long been recognised as a top-class talent in Italy.”

Liverpool opened talks with Roma about Aquilani several weeks ago in readiness for Alonso’s anticipated move to the Bernabeu and finalised a fee as soon as Real completed their €35 million deal. Benitez said he had hoped to keep his compatriot even after Alonso announced he wished to leave Anfield in May, but granted his wish once Real met the €35 million asking price.

“We would have liked to have kept him but as soon as he told us that he wanted to leave we started working, looking for players and trying to do the best deal for the club,” Benitez said.

“After the official transfer request we were working very hard. The first idea was to keep him, and the second one was to find the best price and the best replacement for us.”

Financial pressures at Roma have forced the club to sell the Italian international, who rejected moves to Arsenal and Chelsea as a teenager to play for his boyhood club. Aquilani made his first team debut at 18 under the then Giallorossi manager Fabio Capello, made his Italy debut in 2006 and played for them at Euro 2008.

Benitez’s next move is likely to be for a central defender, with cover required for Sami Hyypia who has joined Bayer Leverkusen and with both Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger nursing hamstring and back injuries respectively.

Portsmouth’s Sylvain Distin is a possible target for the Liverpool manager, as is Michael Turner, but Hull’s valuation of their defender far exceeds what Benitez is prepared to pay.

Alonso was presented as a Real Madrid player last night after signing his five-year contract. The 27-year-old Spain international arrived in the Spanish capital yesterday morning and then underwent various tests and met his new team-mates for training in the afternoon.

The midfielder is Madrid’s eighth summer signing, taking their spending to over €259 million in just two months. Madrid president Florentino Perez has brought in Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Raul Albiol, Esteban Granero, Arbeloa, Alvaro Negredo and Karim Benzema as he attempts to build a team capable of challenging Barcelona’s treble winners.

“It’s a very happy day for me,” said Alonso. “It’s an important step in my career to come to a club like Real Madrid.

“I’m very happy to be part of this club and I was very excited for this day to arrive. It’s the best opportunity for me to develop as a footballer.”

The transfer sees Alonso return to Spain after five years away from his homeland. And, while he enjoyed his time on Merseyside, the former Real Sociedad player admitted he decided before the end of the season the time was right to move on.

“I am very grateful to Liverpool fans, they were very warm during my five years,” he continued.

“I really enjoyed those five years. But a few months ago I took that decision as I thought it was the right moment to find a fresh challenge, to look for a new club.

“That’s when Real Madrid came along. Luckily a deal has been done and I’m very happy. It is a personal challenge I felt is necessary for my football career. I felt it was right so I looked for a change, for a new experience, and when Madrid came in, that’s when I decided to come back to Spain.”