The move takes O’Leary’s spending to £96.3m in his three years in charge, but the Irishman clearly believes he now has a side capable of challenging for the major honours.

‘‘When Jimmy Hasselbaink left I offered £12m for Robbie, and we have been chasing him ever since,’’ he said.

‘‘I have bought an outstanding goalscorer. Technically he is as good as anyone.’’

Fowler trained with his new team-mates for the first time this morning, before meeting a packed media room to outline the reasons for his move from Anfield.

He is now set to make his debut in the Premiership clash with Fulham on Sunday.

‘‘It was fairly obvious how things have panned out,’’ said Fowler on the end of his Liverpool affair.

‘‘Things haven’t gone well for me, and I needed a new challenge.

‘‘Leeds United are as good as any club in Europe. When you look at the squad it is good and young. In the years to come they will be a major team.’’

Fowler denied he has been told he will be an automatic first-team choice and says he will battle it out with Alan Smith, Mark Viduka and Robbie Keane for a place in the side.

‘‘No one has a divine right to play, and I am no different,’’ he said.

Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale said Fowler’s arrival is a clear sign of the distance the Yorkshire side have travelled in recent years.

‘‘If you go back a few short years no one would have imagined someone of Robbie’s stature would have moved to Leeds United,’’ said Ridsdale.

‘‘It is a testament to the work David O’Leary has put in here.’’

Fowler added: ‘‘I have been at Liverpool a long time. They were always magnificent to me. Despite what people say I left Liverpool on good terms with every player and all the staff.

‘‘It is a new challenge and one I needed.

‘‘The manager David O’Leary has told me what he wants. I have been impressed with everything the chairman and the manager have said. I am coming to a good club.’’

Asked if one reason behind his decision was the prospect of playing in the World Cup, Fowler said: ‘‘The World Cup was an influence. It is hard when three players at one club are fighting for two places.

‘‘With me, Michael Owen and Emile Heskey all trying to get into the team it made it more difficult for me with England.

‘‘It is a challenge. Leeds have offered me a chance and I feel as though I will be given a better chance here.

‘‘No-one at Liverpool has said any bad things about me. This team is going places. That suits me.’’

Fowler, asked if he had said goodbye to his former team-mates, said: ‘‘The move happened so quickly. I have no time to say goodbye.

‘‘Hopefully I can go back and say my goodbyes to the staff and the players at Liverpool. I was 11 when I started there and I wouldn’t swap them for anything.

‘‘This is a new chapter of my career but one I am looking forward to. I am excited, not nervous.’’