Former Southampton owner Rupert Lowe has said that Adam Lallana is worth the reported £25m transfer fee that Liverpool paid for the midfielder in the summer.
The England international ended his 14-year spell at the Saints to make the move to Anfield following the World Cup in Brazil earlier this year.
Lowe told the Liverpool Echo: "Yes it's a vast amount of money but that's all part of football now. Relative to some of the fees being paid for other players I think the purchase of Adam represents good value.
"Some of the other fees are ridiculous but Liverpool have got a very gifted player. Adam sees a pass and is fantastic on the ball. He's a very decent boy.
"Like all the players produced by the Southampton Academy, he has intelligence and athleticism. He's a great player. It's taken some people a long time to realise that, but from the moment he and Morgan Schneiderlin were paired together in Southampton's first team you could see how effective they were."
Lallana scores his first Premier League goal for his new club during last weekend's win over West Bromwich Albion.