Martinez: Leandro is a fox in the box and technically strong

Everton manager Roberto Martinez believes that he has signed a gem with new signing Leandro Rodriguez and says the striker is a fox in the box.

Martinez said that the South American is ready to help the group but when asked how long it would take, the Catalan wasn’t sure himself.

“It is difficult to tell.

“He is ready now to help the group because, remember, he had to be an important player for his team, River Plate, in Montevideo in Uruguay and his goalscoring record is very good for someone of such a young age – and he knows how to be effective.

“But being ready for the British game is very, very different.

“We’ve had players who take a month or six weeks and others who take six months, it depends on individuals.

“What we are doing now is making sure his individual programme helps with his physicality and gets him to the level.”

“On Monday, after an hour, he found it very difficult but he never gave in and will get a lot of benefit from that.

“The goal he scored against Preston on Monday showed you that and clearly there will be an adaptation period he has to go through because the physicality is completely different to what he faced in Uruguay.

“But he showed he is ready to compete and look after himself.

“It is difficult to tell how long he is going to take. Some adapt quicker than others and I feel Leandro is going to be one of those. He will take every opportunity to get ready.”

“I think it’s fair to say he is a fox in the box,” said Martinez. “He is someone who finds a way to bring a goalscoring threat into your side and someone who can play as a second striker.

“He is very, very clever in the way he occupies the space and technically he is really strong and he can fit into a possession team and a team that relies on combination play.

“But he is a player that can also find two yards of space in the box.

“The understanding he showed against Preston with the other players around him was very, very interesting and he always finds a way to be effective for the team.

“He doesn’t have a specific profile that means he can’t adapt to different ways of playing, and so that’s why he is going to be successful in our set-up and in the British game.”

Are you looking forward to seeing Leandro in action?

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