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Liverpool have completed the signing of Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez from Dutch club Ajax in a five-and-a-half year deal worth about £22.7m.

"Luis Suarez has completed his transfer to Liverpool in a deal that will keep him at Anfield until 2016," a club statement read. Suarez, 24, will wear the coveted number seven shirt, made famous by his boss Kenny Dalglish.

The striker scored 49 goals in 48 games for Ajax in the Eredivisie last season.

Ajax, who told Liverpool to return with a "respectful" bid after rejecting their initial offer of £12.7m, will make a £16.3m profit on a player they bought from Dutch outfit Groningen in 2007. But BBC Sport blogger Tim Vickery suggested that Liverpool have invested wisely.

"If I had £23m in my bank account I wouldn't have too many qualms about spending it on Suarez," Vickery told BBC Radio 5 live.

"Everybody wins. Ajax played the transfer game poker very well.Liverpool have paid top whack but they have got a striker who can play across the line."

During his spell with the Amsterdam club, Suarez scored 111 goals in 159 appearances. His scoring ratio for Uruguay is one goal in every three internationals, having scored 10 times in 30 games, including three goals in last summer's World Cup.

The Uruguayan has just finished serving a seven-match ban for biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal on the shoulder in a league match in November.

"I can understand Luis wanting to go to Liverpool. It's a beautiful club but then it has to be satisfying for both parties," said Ajax manager Frank de Boer.

Suarez is the first major signing for Liverpool owners New England Sports Ventures (NESV) since it bought the club in October 2010.

But the news comes as Liverpool are on the brink of losing star striker Fernando Torres to Chelsea, who are working to seal a deal for the Spaniard before the January transfer window closes at 2300 GMT on Monday.

Earlier this month Suarez, who has scored seven goals in the Dutch league this season, spoke of his desire to play in the Premier League.

"I used to think that English football was not my style," the Uruguayan, who turned 24 on Monday, told the Sunday Times. "But I saw Carlos Tevez play at Boca and Corinthians and I never imagined that he would play in the Premier League.

"When I see the way that Tevez plays there I think I can be a big name in England. It's because of the energy, and the spirit they put into the game in England. Now, I think it's a kind of football that suits me."