Alan Pardew has been impressed by the impact made by Lionel Scaloni.
Alan Pardew has been impressed by the impact made by Lionel Scaloni in his short time at the club.Scaloni beat the transfer deadline to join West Ham United on loan until the end of the season from Deportivo La Coruna on Tuesday.
The Argentine will help fill the void left by Tomas Repka's return to Czech Republic and Pardew believes he will prove to be a valuable addition to the squad.
"He is a powerful, strong guy," said Pardew. "He is not shy even though he doesn't speak a word of English.
"He brings the same qualities as Tomas Repka. He is a tough boy and a defensive-minded right-sider.
"His pedigree and the fact that he was skipper at a club like Deportivo stands him in good stead to be a success here.
"I didn't want to take any loan players because if you look at the percentage of successful loan players, it is not high. But because of the quality of this player, I changed my mind."
