That’s the message from Julio Arca as Middlesbrough’s £12 million record signing continues to find his feet at the Riverside.
The Samba star joined from Dutch club Heerenveen during the January transfer window but, lacking match fitness, had yet to open his Boro account before yesterday’s Premier League clash with Reading.
Ludicrously, that had some critics questioning the striker’s ability . . . with some comparing him to previous record signing and Italian hot-flop Massimo Maccarone.
But club captain Arca – doubling up as Afonso’s interpreter – insists the Brazilian IS the real deal, and merely needs time to prove it.
“I know people will be expecting a lot from Afonso but it’s important to realise he is coming into a different kind of football to what he has been used to in Holland,” Arca said.
“I think it is good he has come in during January because he has three months to have a good look at the Premier League and get used to it.
“Then he will get the benefit of a full pre-season with us and be ready for next year.”
Arca added: “I am trying to help Afonso as much as I can. We are both from the same continent, if not the same countries, and we talk in a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese.
“It means we can have chats and I think he feels comfortable here. We have an easy group of lads to get along with and he has settled in quickly.”
It is difficult not to feel a little despondent about Sunderland at the moment because no matter what sort of spin you try to put on it, three back to back defeats is difficult to accept....
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