Tim Sherwood has backed burgeoning Aston Villa winger Adama Traore to prove an "excellent signing" when he grows accustomed to the physicality of English football.
Traore, 19, announced himself to the Premier League in style on Saturday by coming off the bench and ghosting past a number of Crystal Palace shirts, before his cross led to the Villans' equaliser in their 2-1 defeat.
As a result, the Barcelona youth product found himself on the receiving end of a host of rough challenges in Tuesday's League Cup win at Notts County, before limping off with an ankle injury after 57 minutes.
"The only way to stop him at the minute is to kick him," manager Sherwood is quoted as saying by The Mirror. "He's a marked man. He will have to get used to it.
"He took a heavy knock and needs to mix his game up so he doesn't give people the opportunity to kick him.
"He's going to find himself a very marked man out there because the only way to stop him in full flow is to bring him down. He will need to be protected but he's a strong robust guy with a big heart and he's going to be an excellent signing for this football club."
The extent of his injury has not yet been revealed by Sherwood, whose side face Sunderland at Villa Park this Saturday.
Traore joined the club from the Catalans for a reported £7m earlier this month.
Shane Callaghan
