Former England striker Francis Jeffers is set to make his much-anticipated debut for the Newcastle Jets this Saturday night against Adelaide after his visa was granted this week.
Jeffers is almost certain to start the first of his 10-match guest stint for the Jets this weekend after his visa was granted on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old only has to get an international transfer clearance, which is considered a formality, before he can make his Hyundai A-League debut.
The Newcastle club will be looking to Jeffers, whose pedigree includes stints at English Premier League clubs Everton and Arsenal, to alleviate their goal-scoring drought this season. The Jets have scored just five goals in 11 games, a record which sees them placed at the bottom of the table.
And while the expectations on the Englishman may be high, he says he is not feeling the pressure.
“I want to get a goal as soon as possible, but it is a bit more than that,” he told Sportal at training this week.
“First and foremost you have got to be a team player and you have got to fit into the way the team plays. You have got to work hard and you have got to help win football matches.”
“If we win the majority of the games when I am here and the lads get the other goals then that is not a big problem for me.”
Jeffers, who earned the nickname ‘the fox in the box’ for his wily play in the final third, said he was impressed with the style of Newcastle’s play and believed he will fit in neatly with their attacking formation.
“The gaffer wants to play a game where we pass the ball around – that is the way the majority of strikers want to play,” he said.
“If we can pass the ball and create chances then that will be good.”
Meanwhile, FFA and the Jets have inspected the new surface at EnergyAustralia and given the green light for Saturday night’s match.
Seventy percent of the ground had to be re-surfaced after a Motocross event at the stadium four weeks ago destroyed the playing surface.
Jets coach Branko Culina said the new turf was still a bit patchy but overall it would be fine to play on this weekend.
