Albert Luque completed his move to Newcastle today and immediately set his sights on ending his goal-drought against Manchester United.
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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..
Kio sai.
Newcastle got a good buy.
Luque is an idoit, his previous team beat newcastle convincingly in the inter toto cup and he still wanna move to newcastle? Really stupid. graeme souness will be the first manager to be sacked this season