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Alves to show his real class
GARETH Southgate insists the
best is yet to come from Middlesbrough's
club record signing
Afonso Alves.
The Brazil striker is beginning
to show the kind of form which
prompted Southgate to shell out
£12.7m for his services in January.
Alves scored his first hat-trick
in English football in Middlesbrough's
8-1 demolition of Manchester
City on Sunday.
That brought Alves' tally to six
goals in seven league starts for
the Teessiders, having failed to
score in his first eight appearances
for the club.
However, Southgate insists the
former Heerenveen forward has
yet to prove his full worth in a red
shirt, but is confident the 27-yearold
will make a big impact in the
Premier League next season.
"He has come here to show me
what he can do but I think if we
were being fair to the player he
will only really start to produce
his best next season," said Southgate.
"The Premier League is a difficult
place to settle, and especially
in the middle of a season, so I
think we will start to see what
Afonso can really offer us next
season.
"He has certainly settled in
very well and his goalscoring
record is good.
"We did not get to see his best
form this season and yet it has
been very important to get him
involved and playing.
"I think Afonso has been surprised
by the raise in the intensity
of everything in the Premier
League.
"It is a lot faster than what he
is used to and no disrespect to the
Dutch League, but it is probably
more competitive. That means it
will take time adjusting, but he
has settled down very well and
we know there is a lot to come
from him."
Up until putting three past
Manchester City, the jury had
been out.
And Southgate admitted:
"£12million was a lot of money
but I think he will score goals in
the Premier League. You have
seen what he can offer in the
matches he has played so far."
As well as been encouraged by
Alves' gradual improvement,
Southgate is rubbing his hands
at the differing styles of attacking
talent he will have at his disposal
come August.
"Next season we should have
Mido, Jeremie Aliadiere, Tuncay
and Alves all vying for places and
that competition is vital if we are
to move on," said Southgate.
"All the strikers give me different
things and offer different alternatives.
"At times this season I can remember
when we didn't have any
strikers available at all so at least
we have moved on from there.
"The fact that we will have
more options up front will be significant."
10:55am Wednesday 14th May 2008
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CommentPosted by: colin gatenby, bali on 2:07am Thu 15 May 08
Thierry who ?
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