Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle has backed £51million summer signing Matias Fernandez-Pardo to come good, insisting the young Belgian needs time to adapt to the Premier League.
The 21-year-old forward, who arrived from Lille in August, is yet to score in his first four appearances for the Magpies, having netted 12 times in Ligue 1 last season. Speaking ahead of Monday night's clash with Coventry, Jaissle acknowledged the striker is still finding his feet.
Jaissle urges patience with young striker
"He has everything to be a top striker. He's technically gifted. I'm 100% sure that he will have a bright future with us," Jaissle said. "We need to give him time. We need to be patient with him. From us, he's totally getting that. We support him, and then you will see that we will get many, many great performances back."
Fernandez-Pardo played only a cameo role for Belgium during the international break, and Jaissle explained the forward's lack of pre-season has been a factor. "He's a young lad, a really young lad. It's part of the brave way, the brave journey we're taking here," he said. "He came here really late with almost no pre-season, now he's been three weeks with the national team but didn't play much or train much."
Selection dilemma ahead of Coventry clash
William Osula is a doubt for the Coventry game after a foot injury, though he was pictured running out to train on Thursday. If Osula is unavailable, Jaissle could again field Fernandez-Pardo leading the line, with DR Congo international Yoane Wissa playing just behind him.
Jaissle was full of praise for Wissa's versatility. "I think the same like I mentioned already, a player who can play multiple positions. He feels really comfortable also playing behind the striker," he said. "He's bringing another element into the team then. So I don't want to stick and predict now his future position because I also want to have the open cards. But he's doing an amazing job on the 10 behind the striker."
