'Our transfer strategy'

The Frenchman also revealed what was said between Henderson and Kenny Dalglish with regards first-team opportunities, and explains why he personally spoke to Steven Gerrard ahead of any potential move for the midfielder.

Watch the full interview by clicking on the play button or read the transcript below.

There has been a lot of talk about this transfer over the last few days and about potential fees. How pleased are you that it's finally done?

I'm very pleased because he was one of the targets we had and when you get your first target it's always a good sign because you think the others will come through as well. We are very, very pleased. He has got all the skills technically that we needed. He's good with the ball, he's creative, he's got good passing, he's physically very good. That's everything we wanted in a midfielder and he's versatile as well. For Kenny he will be the player we wanted. On the fee, I've read and heard a lot of things. There was a lot of speculation on how much we would pay for Jordan and none of the figures I've seen are correct so far. We've paid a price that we are comfortable with, otherwise we would not have done the deal.

Having spoken at length with Jordan, are you confident he's got the mentality to be a big player for Liverpool?

Definitely. It is very difficult to believe you are talking to a 20-year-old. You think you're talking to a 25-year-old. He's very passionate about football, very committed, a top professional. He's the type of player who'll stay behind after training and do extra work. When you talk to him it's not about money or anything related to off the pitch. Everything is on the pitch: where am I going to play, have I got a chance to play, where can I develop most as a player. Kenny and I were very impressed with that and his commitment and passion for the game.

He's only 20-years-old and people talk about his potential but do you see him as a player for now, someone who can slot straight into the team?

Oh yes, he is definitely a player for now. Obviously it's up to Kenny to decide but we see him as a player for now. In all the talks Kenny had with him he said, 'If you come you will be very, very, very much a part of my plans.' We know we are building for the future, a bit like with Luis and Andy in January, but we are also signing a player who is going to be effective from day one.

He's only going to blossom playing next to players like Steven Gerrard, isn't he?

Absolutely. I think that was a key factor for him. I spoke to Stevie about Jordan before we signed him. Stevie was very positive because obviously they have been together in the England camp. I know Jordan really appreciated the fact he was able to play next to Stevie with England. He will learn from players like Jamie Carragher or Stevie or Dirk Kuyt. I think he looked into the history of the club as well.

How good can he become?

That's so difficult to say. I don't know. He's only 20-years-old but he's already played for England, a full international, and that's a massive achievement. What he will be, we don't know - but we know he's already a very good player. We think he's going to be a top player and that's all that matters. We don't want any negative pressure around him. We just want him to come and give us the qualities and skills that he's got, and to enjoy his football.

There is talk of us targeting the best young English talent this summer - is that the strategy?

Yes and no. It's not because a player is English and young that we are going to go for him. We go for a player because he ticks all the boxes. It's what we need at this time in this window. If a player is English or British or has played in the Premier League we'll look at that over someone who is abroad but it could be any nationality as long as they tick the boxes and is what we need for this window and going forward.

We've completed a major transfer early in the summer. We haven't seen that a lot at Liverpool over recent years - again, is that a strategy?

That's the way I personally like to work. The earlier the better because we can then readjust our strategy or decide we aren't going to do any more - which won't be the case now! I didn't know it wasn't the case before but it's certainly something we are trying to do.

Just finally, how will this deal impact upon the future of David Ngog?

Sunderland have had a strong interest in David, so we've agreed to let David speak to Sunderland about his future to see if he's interested in going there. They've expressed a strong interest, so we'll see what's next for him.