Albert Luque completed his move to Newcastle today and
immediately set his sights on ending his goal-drought against
Manchester United.
CliveRose/GettyImages
Alberto Luque of Spain in action.
The 27-year-old Spaniard flew into Tyneside this morning to undergo
a medical before signing a five-year deal following Deportivo La
Coruna's acceptance of the Magpies' undisclosed offer, believed to
amount to £9.5million, yesterday.
He will go straight into the squad for Sunday's Premiership clash
with United provided his international clearance arrives in time,
and is desperate for another crack at Sir Alex Ferguson's
men.
'Manchester United are a very important club in world football and
they have a great team,' he said. 'It would be a great game for me
to make my debut in.
'It would be nice to start with a victory. It is going to be very
difficult, but it is a match we are capable of winning.
'I played four games against Manchester United in the Champions
League, two games in two different seasons. One of the games was in
the quarter final of the Champions League.
'It was a difficult time for Deportivo. I did not score any goals
in any of the games - but maybe I will on Sunday.'
That would provide Newcastle boss Graeme Souness and chairman
Freddy Shepherd with an instant return on their investment, and one
which is much-needed following three league games which have yet to
yield a single goal.
Luque is one of a series of targets upon which the Magpies have set
their sights in an attempt to replace Craig Bellamy and Patrick
Kluivert and find some support for skipper Alan Shearer.
The move looked to have fallen through on Tuesday when Souness
confirmed that what he described as his club's 'final' bid for the
player had been rejected.
But with the closure of the transfer window looming, they went back
to Spain and made the breakthrough.
'I'm very happy to sign,' said Luque, who played against the
Magpies in Deportivo's Intertoto Cup semi-final success earlier
this summer.
'This transfer has been talked about for a while now, and it is
good to be here and have the matter resolved.
'I am looking forward to playing at this fantastic stadium with
Alan Shearer. I'm very excited to be here.
'It is a great place to play, I know that from playing here with
Deportivo. It is usually full and I'm looking forward to playing in
front of the Newcastle fans.'
Newcastle remain in the market for an out-and-out striker with Real
Madrid's Michael Owen topping their list and Feyenoord's Dirk Kuyt
having emerged as another contender, but Luque, who will wear the
number 20 shirt, is sure he can make an impact for his new
club.
'I feel very valued by Newcastle,' he told the club's official
website, www.nufc.co.uk. 'I will work very hard to prove my worth
and I hope to score many goals here.
'The Premiership, along with Spain, is one of the strongest leagues
in Europe.
'I have always wanted to play here in England. It is a challenge,
and I come here at a time when I am playing my best football.
'I want to prove myself in this league, and I am confident I
can.'
Souness has already admitted he does not see Luque as a
20-goal-a-season man, but is confident he will bring both firepower
and creativity to the club.
'He will bring a certain amount of goals and he will bring us a bit
of width if we choose to play him wide on the left,' he said.
'He is naturally left-footed, he is a wonderful striker of the ball
and he is a clever football player.
'He will give us that little bit of class that we have been missing
in that area, someone who can supply goals and score goals.'
Seriously what Newcastle needs now is a new manager..