Gianfranco Zola has welcomed Alessandro Diamanti to West Ham United and is looking forward to seeing him in action.
The manager put Diamanti through his paces for the first time at Chadwell Heath on Friday morning and he looked to have quickly settled in to his new surroundings. The new West Ham United No32 spent much of the session with fellow former Serie A players Valon Behrami and Luis Jimenez, as Zola and Steve Clarke readied their troops for Saturday's game at Blackburn Rovers.
"He is one of those players that is a classical No10," Zola said. "He is a very talented player and he can play in the hole. He can play one side or the other.
"He is an offensive player and very skilful. His speciality is free-kicks and he has a very good left foot. He is a good player, but where I play him I don't yet know. I have some ideas but I am waiting to see how he will fit in the team."
Diamanti himself is not likely to figure at Ewood Park as he awaits international clearance, which means the first time Hammers' fans will see the new recruit in action is at Wigan Athletic on 12 September. All being well, Diamanti could be joined in the squad by Behrami, who will have had over two weeks of full training under his belt after returning from a knee injury.
"Potentially he [Diamanti] can be a superstar but it depends on him. I don't want to put pressure on him. He is now in a different environment and championship at a higher level and it's up to him to adapt to a new situation.
"As far as I am concerned I will try and help him. I want him to make an impact as soon as possible."
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