Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has expressed his belief that the signing of Rickie Lambert will give Brendan Rodgers's side a "Plan B".
The 32-year-old is close to sealing a £4m move to Anfield after passing a medical on Saturday.
Aldridge feels that Lambert will provide extra quality and a different option from the bench that the club lacked last season.
He told the Liverpool Echo: "Christmas has come early for Rickie and I'm absolutely made up for him. He will give us that bit of a Plan B which we didn't have last season.
"When you looked at the bench when we were challenging for the title Brendan didn't really have any options on the bench to change things.
"It was a choice between Iago Aspas or Victor Moses, and it was pretty clear they weren't going to change a game for us. But Rickie with his aerial ability, with the way he attacks balls coming into the box, gives us that different threat when it comes to getting crosses in."
Lambert scored 13 goals in the Premier League for Southampton last season.
