Thursday 15 January 2015 17:47, UK
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew is looking forward to unleashing his new signing Yaya Sanogo on Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday.
The Frenchman, 21, has joined the Eagles on loan from Arsenal for the remainder of the season and will wear the No 9 shirt that has been left vacant by Kevin Doyle’s return to Wolves.
Sanogo has scored just one goal in 20 appearances for Arsenal, albeit mostly from the bench, but Pardew believes his “chaos factor” will be a useful asset to his new team.
"Strikers in the Premier League don't always have to contribute with goals," said Pardew. "I think Sanogo offers a bit of chaos factor: you're not quite sure what he's going to do.
"He's got technical ability that sometimes surprises you, and I think he can score goals. His main job here is to grow as a player, and goals will make him grow quicker. So if he could get a goal quickly that would be good for him.
“I've been lucky in my career when it comes to strikers. Most of my strikers have hit the ground running, and fingers crossed Yaya does the same.
"Mr Wenger, who I spoke to, has a high regard for him and feels that it will be good for Arsenal and him to come on loan.
"So it's a platform for him, no more than that, to see if his development is ready to be a Premier League player for Arsenal, and he needs to prove that at this football club.
"His first two or three days' training have been very good, and we're very pleased to have him."
Pardew made Sanogo his first Palace signing after replacing the sacked Neil Warnock at Selhurst Park.
The former Newcastle boss wants to recruit another striker in the January transfer window, but refused to discuss any continued interest in Swansea's Bafetimbi Gomis.
However, he did not rule out a move for Liverpool's Jose Enrique, despite confirming he had made no moves so far for the full-back he managed at Newcastle.
"I'm not going to talk about players under contract at other clubs,” he said.
"Jose is a player I worked with before; I haven't as such made a direct enquiry to the player or his agent, or the manager of Liverpool, or the chairman of Liverpool, as yet."
