Carragher: Joe Cole signing shows Liverpool still mean business

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has warned their Barclays Premier League rivals they still mean business - and the signing of Joe Cole proves as much.

Cole agreed terms on a four-year contract yesterday and flew to the club's Switzerland training camp yesterday to have a medical.

After a disappointing seventh-placed finish last season, and with no Champions League football to look forward to in the coming months, there was a concern Liverpool would struggle to attract top-quality signings.

However, Carragher believes the arrival of his England team-mate Cole, who was a free agent after being released by Chelsea, shows those fears are unfounded.

"It's great news and it is a message that Liverpool mean business," said the 32-year-old, who returns to Melwood today with fellow England internationals Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson to begin pre-season training today after a three-week rest.

"We have signed a top international player who has been really important for Chelsea.

"A lot of clubs wanted to sign him but it is a real coup that he has chosen to come here and you have got to give the manager and the board a pat on the back for convincing him to come here.

"Every supporter that I have spoken to is absolutely delighted and all the players are the same - it's given everyone a boost, just at the right time.

"It has been a long summer and we have been in a transitional period but now the World Cup is out of the way, we can start to look forward again.

"The fact we have got him has given everyone a boost around the city.

"It's good news again and, hopefully, there will be more to come.

"It's the kind of signing that we needed to make."