Fulham and Republic of Ireland international defender Stephen Kelly believes deadline day signing Pavel Pogrebnyak has all the attributes to become a force to be reckoned with in the Barclays Premier League.
After impressing in training following his arrival in SW6, Pogrebnyak scored on his debut against Stoke City at the Cottage last weekend and Kelly was delighted to see the Club's new striker pass his first test with flying colours.
“He [Pogrebnyak] made the exact impact we wanted him to make [against Stoke],” said Kelly. “In the couple of days training before the game you could see that he is the type of striker that will come and keep the ball then spin and get in the box and score goals.
“That was a baptism of fire for him against Stoke. He’s not going to get more ferocious teams trying to head the ball and come through the back of him than their centre backs so to prove that he can withstand that is a good test for him and in a game where it will be more of a passing game, I’m sure he will come into it as well.
“He’s a big, strong boy and exactly what we need to link up play and probably what we were lacking in the last couple of games. We were kind of screaming out for a centre forward, a target man, someone that you can bring people into the game. That’s exactly what he did against Stoke and he produced a great finish for his goal.
“He’s hungry to score and hopefully he is going to be a good attribute for us. He’s the type of player that you can play the ball up to and he can bring in the likes of Damien, the wingers and Clint, in off the wings and let them link up and not lose the ball. That’s exactly what we needed and if he can continue on from the start he made against Stoke, I’m sure he will be fantastic for us.
“He seems like a different type of player, a strong a physical lad and I think that in this league, at times if you are a centre forward you need to be that.”