"We spoke with him face to face and the response of the player was fantastic. It was similar to when I was talking to Robbie Fowler. You could see he was a Liverpool fan and you could see he was desperate to play for us," said Benitez.
"I think this desire can be the difference between the Bellamy that we knew in the past and the Bellamy that maybe we will see in the future.
"When a player has some problems in his past it is a risk, but from speaking to the player you can see he is more mature now. I think he knows that this move is important for him and he wants to be successful in a top side.
"This is the opportunity for him."